People living in the Fraser Health region will now be able to order free harm reduction supplies for delivery to their homes.
The new initiative includes drug injection and inhalation supplies, along with naloxone kits, drug testing strips and safe sex supplies.
The program is aimed at reducing drug deaths among people who don’t use supervised drug consumption sites due to stigma, isolation or other reasons.
“The unregulated toxic drug supply crisis requires us to think outside the box — in this case, deliver the box of harm reduction supplies — to individuals who don’t typically use in-person services,” said Erin Gibson, Fraser Health’s manager of clinical operations for toxic drug response and priority populations.
“There are many reasons people don’t access in-person harm reduction and drug checking services, including lack of transportation and stigma. We’re still encouraging people to have someone witness their consumption wherever possible to reduce the risk of toxic drug deaths.”
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The program is a partnership between Fraser Health, MTS Logistics and the Mountainside Harm Reduction Society.
Users can access the items through an online web portal that also connects them to Fraser Health resources, including clinical and outreach teams.
Harm reduction expert Guy Felicella hailed the program, which he said could help reduce deaths among people who don’t have easy access to harm reduction facilities in their communities.
“You can’t expect people to actually travel to go access a site or a facility that’s in another town or maybe a 45-minute bus ride,” he said.
But he said more importantly, the service will provide a human connection for people who are struggling with drug use.
By delivering the supplies directly to users, Felicella said the service could operate as a “bridge” to people who are isolated but may be considering seeking treatment or changing their lives.
“You don’t build connections to people who are using alone or struggling alone. There’s no relationship building,” he said.
“People are struggling with social isolation, that is the part that really cripples people, stigmatizes them, and doesn’t give them the ability to reach out.”
BC Conservative Party MLA Eleonore Sturko said it was “concerning” that the harm reduction supplies were being made so easily accessible, while access to treatment remains “difficult.”
“The services should be equal, at least. It should be just as easy to access detox and treatment as it is to order a crack pipe online,” she said.
“I went through (the website) and wanted to see what type of resources are available… I would have expected there to be a box about how to access help.”
Fraser Health said the service is just one part of a continuum of mental health and substance use services, which includes a dozen overdose prevention sites.
The B.C. Coroners Service reports at least 1,158 people have died from toxic illicit drugs in the first six months of 2024, about nine per cent fewer than in 2023.