Kitchener drug consumption site seeing half as many people during pandemic
Doors remain open, but COVID-19 measures have reduced capacity
KITCHENER — The supervised drug consumption site in downtown Kitchener is seeing about half as many people during the pandemic — in part due to safety measures that are limiting how many can come inside, sometimes causing a wait.
“They may have chosen not to stay,” said Grace Bermingham, manager of harm reduction for Region of Waterloo Public Health.
Client numbers were down about 50 per cent in April and May compared to the beginning of the year, and overdoses treated at the consumption and treatment services site were also down by about a half.
“Overdose is always a concern that we have,” Bermingham said. “Definitely accessing the site absolutely is a concern.”
COVID-19 also delayed construction on the permanent consumption and treatment services site, which is now expected to be operating in September.
But throughout the pandemic, the service continued to give people a safe space to use drugs where trained staff could treat a potentially fatal overdose.
“The doors never closed at any point,” Bermingham said.
Construction fencing now encircles the Duke Street building as work is underway on the permanent portion, but the door remains open — just at the side.
Measures were put in place in March to ensure the site was safe for both clients and staff.
Those included screening clients for coronavirus symptoms before entering, limiting the number of people allowed into the site and decreasing injection booths from two to one because those were side by side and people would be too close together.
“That was critical as well to keep people safe,” Bermingham said.
But it also meant fewer people could be inside where their drug use could be supervised, and some were not willing to wait.
During its first three full months of operation since opening on Oct. 15, the temporary site had 2,380 visitors with a monthly average of 793, and 40 overdoses were successfully treated.
Bermingham would not share recent numbers, saying a report was planned for August.
“We did see lower numbers in the months of April and May,” she said.
Along with allowing fewer people to enter, fewer people were coming to the site — likely a combination of feeling uncomfortable about the risk of becoming infected and because people were moved to different shelters further away.
“The site was chosen because of its proximity to other services operating in the downtown,” Bermingham said.
Construction on the permanent site — paid for by a capital grant of $1 million from the province — was slated to begin in mid-April and expected to be ready in mid-July followed by some exterior renovations that would be wrapped up in August.
But instead it got underway about a month late in May. Demolition on the main floor is done and renovation work has begun and should be completed by the end of August.
Work on the second floor and exterior should now be finished at some point in October.
The permanent site will include wraparound services, including primary care, mental health support and access to help with other basic needs such as income and housing support.
“We are quite excited about what the end of construction is going to mean for this space,” Bermingham said.