Cambridge moves ahead on drug site
Seven months after council endorsed the location, an operator has not yet been named
Officials are getting closer to announcing who will operate a consumption and treatment services site at 150 Main St. in Cambridge, nearly seven months after council endorsed the location.
Kristin Kerr is the mental health and addiction steering committee lead for the Cambridge North Dumfries Ontario Health Team.
“At this time, we are working with the local service providers in Cambridge to confirm the operator and move the application process forward,” she said.
“There will be an announcement as soon as we are able.”
Kerr added, “There are willing operators and we are working through the process to have the needed clarity before the announcement.”
Consumption and treatment sites (CTS) provide a safe place for people to use drugs with a set of eyes on them to prevent accidental overdose or drug poisoning deaths.
They also provide health and addictions services, harm reduction, mental health and other supports on site and by referral.
It was a long road getting to the point of an approved site in Cambridge after significant public pushback.
Council in 2018 passed an interim control bylaw that would prevent a CTS site within 500 metres of the three city cores and adjacent lands so staff could take time to review regulations for the sites.
In 2019, staff were directed to identify possible sites outside the core areas.
Coun. Donna Reid moved the 2021 motion to endorse 150 Main St. The site is already home to a drop-in centre for those experiencing homelessness.
“I am a strong supporter of a Cambridge CTS,” Reid said. “These sites save lives and connect people to supports they need.
“As relationships are built and trust established, our vulnerable population is served. I am looking forward to its establishment.”
A CTS site already exists in downtown Kitchener on Duke Street. It’s operated by the Region of Waterloo and Sanguen Health Services.
Since its opening in 2019, nobody has died from accidental overdose or drug poisoning at the site.
Meanwhile, away from the CTS site, 158 regional residents died of poisoning or accidental overdose last year, according to coroner’s data. That’s up from 145 in 2020 and 105 in 2019.
According to a regional report, in 2021 there were more than 8,800 visits to the CTS site, up from about 5,800 in 2020. More than 5,200 referrals to services were made.
The number of visits ranged from 417 per month to a high of 1,128 in December and there were between 109 and 190 unique visitors per month.
Non-fatal overdoses and drug poisonings ranged between 10 and 53 per month.
The region’s harm reduction program operates with community partners and focuses on distribution and collection of needles and pipes and distribution of the lifesaving overdose drug Naloxone.
More than 730,000 needles were distributed and nearly 197,000 pipes.
The highest needle return rate in five years was recorded at just shy of 90 per cent, or 661,000 needles. That’s an underestimate because there are also sharp disposals at pharmacies and other locations.
The average age of participants was 37.5 years and 70 per cent were male.
It cost about $2.4 million to run the consumption and treatment site and harm reduction program at Duke Street. Most of the cost is covered by the Ministry of Health. The tax base paid about $261,000.
Consumption and treatment sites (CTS) provide a safe place for people to use drugs with a set of eyes on them to prevent accidental overdose or drug poisoning deaths