Site will be ‘clean and safe space’
Supervised drug consumption site set to open Jan. 2
What’s old will be renewed again in a bid to save lives from the rising number of drug overdoses in Lethbridge. Government officials and local media received a tour Friday of the city’s future supervised consumption site, currently under construction.
The former Pulse nightclub is being transformed into what will become a “clean and safe space” area for drug users to snort, inhale, inject or swallow drugs while under the supervision of healthcare professionals and without fear of arrest.
Health Canada approved the site’s exemption from federal drug legislation on Wednesday. The Lethbridge site is the first in North America to be granted the exemption for all four modes of consumption.
ARCHES Lethbridge, a local harm reduction agency, will operate the site with wraparound services dedicated to prevention, addictions counselling, housing and employment services, and more.
“We’re excited to get started on the renovations and we’re looking forward to opening at the beginning of 2018,” said Stacey Bourque, ARCHES executive director.
Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said the province was “very clear” with the federal government that it was looking to fast-track the exemptions for Lethbridge and Edmonton so communities “could face the opioid crisis head on.”
“The province took a leadership position in terms of its funding as well,” said Phillips. “This space over the next year and some will benefit from $2 million of provincial investment which will assist people with substance use dependency, will assist our downtown businesses, will ensure that people are getting the treatment they need for a crisis that is only increasing and is causing a lot of human devastation.”
ARCHES will also receive about $1.6 million annually for operations. They will have about 10,000 square feet to operate within the building, located at 1016 1 Ave. S.
The west side of the building will house the consumption site. There will be six booths for injection and two rooms for inhalation, with a maximum of six people allowed in each space at a time.
“People can also use internasally or orally at the booths that are there,” said Bourque. “There is also a waiting room and an observation area that people can stay in as well.”
The area will be staffed by registered nurses or LPNs, harmreduction specialists and addictions counsellors. The east side of the building will be used for offices and meeting space.
The building will also feature an enhanced ventilation system to ensure workplace health and safety for employees and clients. It’s been mechanically engineered to exchange air flow at a higher rate than a regular system, along with an emergency switch system to automatically turn air over. Masks will be kept onsite and policies and procedures put in place.
The location was determined to be best suited due to its close proximity to primary areas where public drug use occurs, its proximity to public transit, and the fact that it is well away from residential neighbourhoods. There is a high incidence of overdoses occurring within a 1.5-kilometre radius of the identified site.
ARCHES is hopeful they can open the new site on Jan. 2, 2018. They will move their operations over from their existing location on 6 Avenue South.
Opening in the winter months will be helpful, said Bourque, as many will be looking for warmer spaces to conduct their activities.
“We’re hoping a pattern might be created before the weather gets warmer and then we’ll see improvement in the community issues as well around drug consumption and needle debris.”
There are an estimated 3,000 drug users in Lethbridge, and double that number within southwest Alberta. Overdose rates are 24 per cent higher in the South Zone than elsewhere in the province.
“We have increased drug use in our community. We know methamphetamine and fentanyl are both being injected at high rates,” said Bourque. “We just have to keep working within the community to try and address the underlying root causes of addiction, focus on mental health, but also be able to provide supports for people to meet them where they’re at, hence the harm reduction.”
It is a very controversial issue and there are a lot of misconceptions around the facility, said Bourque. Some believe they are only enabling drug use without providing any additional help or support. But the health care and social supports they provide and the relationships they build have been effective in helping drug users access more care and possibly detox and treatment, she explained.
“So when they want the help, we’re where they come and we don’t expect that will change,” said Bourque. “The more access we have to people who use drugs the safer they feel. The longer we can keep them alive it just means they can make a better decision on another day. If they die, obviously they lose that opportunity.”
Some express concerns that tax dollars are used to support such a facility. But Bourque argues those tax dollars are already being spent on the issue in other areas.
“Whether it’s for police service intervention, EMS intervention, hospitalizations, emergency room visits, all of that stuff plays a role and tax dollars go towards that. This is a much cheaper option than continuing to put pressure on those emergency services in our community.”
A number of local organizations saw the need to work quickly and cohesively to determine an effective response to the opioid crisis, to co-ordinate services and help save lives. They formed the Lethbridge Executive Leaders Coalition on Opioid Use, which has been meeting monthly since November 2016. It includes representatives from the health, police, justice, emergency medical, post-secondary, municipal, education and social service sectors.
“It’s a significant social issue in our city,” said Mayor Chris Spearman. “We have been supporting this with our city resources saying ‘this is an important issue to address.’ You have to remember four years ago this didn’t exist. It’s come up in the last two years as a serious social issue in our city and I’m pleased we are responding as quickly as we can.”
Spearman commended the work of ARCHES and the coalition for their diligent work. The coalition will continue to meet regularly and the next focus is on community and prevention education.
“We really struggle because we talk about people who use drugs as ‘the other’ all of the time, but they are not ‘the other,’” said Bourque. “They are our mothers, our fathers, our children, other family members, our colleagues, our friends in this community. And we have to remember that going forward. Everybody deserves to be treated with dignity and respect and I think it’s important to remember that as a community and do whatever we can to make it happen.”
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