Temporary injection site awaits approval
A temporary supervised injection site could be a reality by early summer, if the Ministry of Health approves Positive Living Niagara’s application to establish the facility.
And then, work can begin to establish a permanent facility to help reduce the increasing number of Niagara residents who are losing their lives due to drug overdoses, said the organization’s executive director, Glen Walker.
“We’re hoping to hear in the next couple of weeks about the approval, and then we have to hit the ground running and get the staff and put it all together,” Walker said. “If we do get approval, we’re probably looking at some time around early summer we’ll be able to start something.”
The temporary site, however, will only operate for about six months.
“We’ve got a six-month window to try and come up with a more permanent solution,” Walker said, following a discussion on Tuesday’s public health committee meeting about efforts to reduce the growing number of overdoses.
A report presented during the meeting shows a continuing increase in paramedics responding to suspected overdoses this year, from about 30 calls in January to 53 in March. In about a dozen of those calls, Niagara Emergency Medical Services paramedics used naloxone kits to treat patients who were suffering from opioid overdoses.
Members of Niagara’s Overdose Prevention and Education Network have also developed an opioid awareness campaign focused on social media, to be launched in early May.
Meanwhile, Positive Living has received about $125,000 in new federal funding to bolster its efforts.
“It’s modest, but it certainly is welcome.”
Walker said the Public Health Agency of Canada drug strategy grant was offered to Positive Living through a “targeted proposal,” reflecting the high incident rates in the region.
Positive Living was one of about 20 organizations across Canada that were asked to submit proposals for the funding, “and we’re really pleased to have that and we’re moving forward.”
While the federal government “is stepping up to the plate,” he said the province is also taking a “more aggressive approach to the overdose situation.”
“It’s nice to see that is occurring.”