MORE ON OPIOIDS
Overdose prevention site has already saved one drug user
In its first week, Hamilton’s temporary overdose prevention site has seen a dozen users, including one overdose where a person was saved.
“We’ve had a trickle of folks in since (opening),” said Dr. Robin Lennox, a Shelter Health Network physician, describing the first week as “smooth.”
The site is at Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre, 71 Rebecca St., and is run in partnership with Shelter Health Network.
Starting last Tuesday, it’s open every night for drug users to inject, snort or orally ingest illicit drugs in a secure room under the supervision of medical staff.
In addition to the dozen who used the overdose prevention site room, Lennox said they also had more than 20 people come by to look around, some visiting the harm-reduction room on-site that includes needle exchange and others offering to volunteer.
“I think this week we were introducing ourselves to the community and establishing trust with the users,” she said, adding that once people become more comfortable they expect traffic will go up.
The temporary site was a long time coming for organizers, who continue to search for a permanent solution in Hamilton, where 87 people died of opioid overdoses last year.
It’s funded through a $116,300 grant from the Ministry of Health and LongTerm Care that is meant to last until the end of November.
It operates under a federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act exemption and is always staffed by three people, including a doctor or nurse.
Hamilton police are supportive of the site, with Deputy Chief Dan Kinsella meeting several times with organizers, but say they also need to balance that with the safety of the community.
“Anything that can prevent opioid deaths is certainly the way to go,” he said, adding that a well-run site is a clean, safe environment for drug users that keeps used needles off the street.
It’s an extension of how police already handle drug overdose calls, not charging the drug user, Kinsella said.
The Good Samaritan law also protects others who call 911 on behalf of someone else overdosing from being charged with drug possession.
“We’re not as much interested in the front-end user when we go to an overdose call,” he said.
“We’re interested in the people that supply the drugs, because they’re really the people that are causing the problem.”
Police know there is often a hesitancy to call 911 during an overdose, something Kinsella wants to change “to make sure they get the help they need without undue fear.”
However, police also say other areas where there have been overdose prevention sites have seen issues in the surrounding area.
And Hamilton police are watching for any trends or hot spots that may arise.
The top concern is the possibility of drug dealers moving in to prey on vulnerable people, he said.
But there may also be concerns about other crimes — such as thefts, mischiefs or robberies — by people looking for drug money.
Police also don’t want to see users camping out on properties in the area. If that happens, police hope to work collaboratively with social service agencies and the individuals to find better places to stay.
“We wont go while it’s operating, probably, because that’s not good customer service,” Kinsella said. “The expectation will be that if there is a criminal offence on the property ... anything that’s not exempted, that they’ll call us.”
The exemption is only for personal drug use at the site, so police would lay charges for anything else, including if someone has a warrant out for their arrest or is breaching a court order.
“The people who are using need to know that they need not fear the police, but they also need to know what the rules are and what the boundaries are,” Kinsella said.
The overdose prevention site runs from 8 to 11 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 6 to 11 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and over the weekends.