The president of the Beltline Neighbourhoods Association is optimistic about the positive impact a safe drug consumption site could make in his neighbourhood.
“We’re optimistic with all the attention this has been given and the priority this has been given by police services, health services, the province and the municipal government, that we can do this right, and we can serve as a model for other jurisdictions and other parts of the city to do this,” said Peter Oliver.
On Wednesday, the province of Alberta announced $1.2 million in funding for renovations to the Sheldon Chumir Health Centre, located in the Beltline, to prepare the facility to become Calgary’s first safe drug consumption site.
READ MORE: 241 fentanyl-related deaths in Alberta in first half of 2017
“Harm-reduction programs, like supervised consumption services, are an important strategy to help people using street drugs to do so in a safer environment, where overdoses can be prevented,” Associate Health Minister Brandy Payne said in a release Wednesday.
Oliver said some in the community may have formed opinions and perceptions of safe drug consumption sites based on what they’ve seen in other communities, including in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. However, he believes the Beltline has the opportunity to become a role-model for how such programs can be implemented.
“There’s already a lot of different social agencies operating in the Beltline,” Oliver said. “We’re no stranger to homelessness, to treating people with mental health problems and addiction problems.”
“The Sheldon Chumir (Health Centre) has been doing a lot of this already, and this is just adding one more service to that suite of services.
READ MORE: Alberta hopes to set up safe injection site in downtown Calgary
Oliver echoed the sentiments of Calgary’s police chief, Roger Chaffin, saying the community can’t arrest its way out of an opioid crisis, but instead should create an environment that helps addicts get help.
“What the statistics and the studies have shown is that offering safe consumption services offers an opportunity to actually help people and take the problem off the streets and into a place where there are wraparound services, where people can get help,” Oliver said.
“I think it’s really important due to the number of deaths due to opioid overdoses.”
A second-quarter report for 2017 shows that 119 people died from an apparent fentanyl-related overdose between April 1 and June 30. That brings the total number of deaths in 2017 to 241.
“Doing nothing (means) things are only getting worse,” said Oliver. “I think it’s important we see action taken so we can prevent more of these deaths in the community.”
With files from The Canadian Press
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