The doors of an overdose prevention facility have officially closed in Vancouver.
The closure is due to the City of Vancouver choosing to not renew the lease for the Thomus Donaghy Overdose Prevention Site, which was announced in July 2023.
The decision to not renew the lease for the Seymour Street facility was a result of “concerns from the community” about “negative impacts” outside the site, according to Coun. Peter Meiszner.
He said everyone agrees the OPS is a “life-saving service that is desperately needed,” but there have been issues with safety, camping, cleanliness and “street disorder” outside it.
“We understand (these facilities) save lives and we need to ensure we have these services in Vancouver and I am 100 per cent in support of that,” Meiszner said.
“But they need to be run in a manner that is responsible and keeps the neighbourhood in mind.”
A new overdose prevention site will be opened at Howe Street, near Helmcken Street, at a location that is already providing low-income housing and shelter spaces.
It will be operated by RainCity Housing and Vancouver Coastal Health.
For now, while the transition takes place between the old facility and the new one, a temporary mobile overdose prevention site has been activated.
The temporary stop-gap facility is located at the old site.
A Vancouver drug advocate said the closure of the old site is a waste of resources.
“To close one and open one up … imagine the tremendous waste of resources,” said Vince Tao, an advocate with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users.
“How are we supposed to expect that something like this won’t happen again? We should be expanding these services, not closing.”
The local health authority is expected to release more information about the new facility later on Wednesday.
— More to come …