An interim supervised injection site has opened in downtown Toronto.
“The goal is to provide a safe environment that provides security for clients and staff as well,” Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s medical officer of health, told reporters outside the facility on Monday.
The site is located at 277 Victoria Street, in the same building where a permanent location – which is currently undergoing renovations – will be opened.
In a statement issued Sunday, Health Canada said the site passed all of its inspections.
“Supervised Consumption sites are an important harm reduction measure and part of the Government of Canada’s comprehensive, collaborative, compassionate and evidence-based approach to drug policy,” the statement read.
“International and Canadian evidence shows that, when properly established and maintained, supervised consumption sites save lives and improve health without increasing drug use or crime in the surrounding area.”
READ MORE: 3 safe injection sites approved for Toronto
Toronto’s medical officer of health said the site will have room for three people at a time and be open from Monday to Saturday between 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Once renovations are complete, the opening hours for the permanent location within the same building will run seven days a week between 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The approval of the interim site comes after harm reduction workers set up an unsanctioned safe injection site in Moss Park earlier in the month, saying the space was needed as the city grapples with a string of fatal and non-fatal overdoses, many believe to be connected to fentanyl.
Shaun Hopkins, who manages the needle exchange program at Toronto Public Health, said the temporary safe injection site will increase the dignity and safety of the people who come in and use the service.
“Our clients are ready for this. They’re intending on using it,” she said. “They want someplace that is safe. They’re really concerned about overdose. So they’re looking for somewhere they can come in, be observed and prevent death from overdose.”
READ MORE: Toronto trying to open supervised injection site ahead of schedule
Nick Boyce, a harm reduction worker, said the facility will allow staff to build relationships with people who have mental health and addiction issues.
“We need to start treating drug users as a health and social issue, and start to build connections – bringing people back into society, not putting them to the edges.”
Three permanent sites were originally slated to open in the fall, but the city announced it would speed up the opening of all three, as well as widening the distribution of the opioid overdose medication naloxone to public health staff, community agencies and first responders.
—With files from The Canadian Press and Nick Westoll