ARCHESonfrontlineofopioidcrisis
No everyone appreciates work organization is attempting to do
On the front line of the opioid crisis in Lethbridge is an organization known as ARCHES. ARCHES is an acronym for AIDS Outreach Community Harm Reduction Education and Support Society. The organization is volunteerbased and not-for-profit, focusing on the promotion of leadership and development of community capacity in response to HIV and Hepatitis C in southwestern Alberta.
ARCHES got its start in 1986 and was formerly known as the Lethbridge HIV Connection. It was incorporated as a society in 1988 following a community meeting including health and social service agencies organized by the Lethbridge Health Unit.
ARCHES is a member of the Canadian AIDS Society, the Alberta Community Council on HIV and The United Way of Southwestern Alberta. It is also a member of the Lethbridge Executive Leaders Coalition on Opioid Use.
The organization is funded through the Alberta Community HIV Fund, which is a joint ACCH, Health Canada, and Alberta Health and Wellness initiative, as well through private donations and fundraising activities.
ARCHES has also received City funding on occasion to assist with needle debris cleanup efforts.
In recent years, ARCHES has greatly expanded in the area of harm reduction around intravenous drug use in the city.
The organization began a naloxone program in 2015 in response to increasing opioid drug use in the city.
ARCHES currently runs a needle distribution program and operates the only supervised consumption site in the country which allows four methods of drug use: injection, oral, intranasal and inhalation.
Through the site, located on 1 Avenue South in the former Pulse Nightclub building, ARCHES also manages wraparound services dedicated to prevention, addictions counselling, and housing and employment services. Through its supervised consumption services and with onsite medical staff, it is providing frontline medical care to vulnerable people who would not access medical care otherwise.
Increasingly, ARCHES has found itself as the face of drug use and harm reduction efforts in the city, and faced significant backlash from the community for its efforts.
The message to the community in regards to needle distribution remains unchanged: ARCHES is following best practices established by the World Health Organization for dealing with reducing bloodborne diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C, and is part of the original mandate established by the organization more than 30 years ago.
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