Overdoses up, still no safe injection site
Two locations designated for consumption have yet to materialize in fentanyl-ravaged city
When Alexandra Sayers began living on 135A Street in Surrey a year ago, she was “absolutely terrified” of needles or seeing someone suffer a drug overdose.
Since then, the 21-year-old has had friends die from overdoses and administered naloxone, which blocks or reverses the effect of opioids, more than a dozen times.
“Now it’s so regular that I can do it with my eyes blindfolded and with one hand,” she said. “It’s on a regular basis that people are overdosing. It’s scary being out here.”
B.C. is in the midst of an opioid overdose crisis, mostly due to the introduction of fentanyl. According to the B.C. Coroners Service, there were 98 overdose deaths in Fraser Health in the first three months of 2017, 37 of which were in Surrey.
Only Vancouver has more overdose deaths than Surrey.
People who live on and around the twoblock stretch of 135A Street — known as “The Strip” — along with some advocates feel like help has been slow to come to Surrey.
They point to the fact that two locations were chosen for safe consumption sites by Fraser Health in December, but the facilities have not yet materialized.
“Here in Surrey, where homelessness has gone up by 50 per cent and overdose deaths are the second highest in the province, the response has been to initiate a new outreach team comprised of 12 police officers and four bylaw officers,” said Dave Diewert, from the Alliance Against Displacement. “Where is the safe injection site that was announced at the exact same time (as the outreach team)? It hasn’t appeared, but overdoses have continued.”
Fraser Health submitted its final applications to Health Canada for supervised consumption sites in Surrey in mid-February. The proposed sites would be integrated into Quibble Creek Sobering and Assessment Centre on 94A Street and on 135A Street in partnership with the Lookout Emergency Aid Society.
The applications have not yet been approved. On April 12, Health Canada requested additional information about site security, operational procedures and key personnel.
Fraser Health spokesperson Tasleem Juma said the health authority hopes to open the sites as soon as possible, and they’re already working on things like site preparation and training staff.
“Hopefully it’ll be late spring, but again it depends on when Health Canada approves the application,” Juma said.
In the meantime, Lookout Emergency Aid Society is operating an overdose-prevention site at the Parkway shelter on 135A Street. It’s a place where people can use drugs while being monitored by trained staff, but it is not approved by Health Canada.
It opened in December as a one-table operation that was available only to those staying at the shelter. However, the site was recently expanded to three tables open to everyone for 16 hours a day. It’s the only overdose-prevention site in the area, while Vancouver has numerous sites in the Downtown Eastside.
The site is funded by Fraser Health, which also provides outreach. The city has not taken a position on the site, according to Terry Waterhouse, the city’s public safety director.
Keir Macdonald, Lookout’s deputy executive director, said they’re seeing at least 50 people per day — more than at their Powell Street Getaway site in Vancouver.
“We’ve known for quite a long time about the significant number of overdoses that have been occurring in and around the 135A area,” said Macdonald. “We’re not surprised people are making the most of (the overdose-prevention site), but the uptake has probably been greater than we suspected.”
Odessa Steines, a 135A Street resident, described the site as small and busy.
“It’s not an actual safe injection site and it is overcrowded,” she said.
Macdonald said the demand has already prompted Lookout to discuss adding extra tables. He said the concern is balancing safety with community need.
“We continue to evaluate,” said Macdonald. “It seems there continues to be demand for additional services.”