Two days after London police announced three deaths and two hospitalizations from suspected drug overdoses, the Middlesex-London Health Unit has announced the location of a new temporary overdose prevention site (TOPS).
During a news conference on Friday, local officials announced the temporary site will be located at 186 King St. and will share space with Regional HIV/AIDS Connection.
And just hours before, health officials learned they’d gotten approval for a TOPS from The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care along with a one-time funding commitment of $130,700.
“This is a turning point in how we respond to the crisis that has gripped the London area for years,” said medical officer of health Chris Mackie.
“This isn’t the answer to London’s drug problem. It is one small part of the puzzle, but it’s an important part.”
Nestled next to the Regional HIV/AIDS’existing Counterpoint Needle and Syringe Program on the first floor, the temporary site will have six cubicles where people can use drugs.
It is similar to a more permanent supervised consumption site that’s still in the works in London, in that it’ll have clean equipment, naloxone kits in case of overdose, a nurse on site, and a place to chill out afterwards.
Get weekly health news
Although people will be allowed to enter through the front door, anyone using overdose prevention will leave through the building’s back door.
“What we don’t want to do is send people who are in altered states back through the building, because part of this is co-operating with the landlord –and that’s part of their request… it’s about respecting neighbours in the area,” explained Regional HIV/AIDS Connection executive director Brian Lester.
The building is also home to residential tenants and two restaurants.
Following widespread public consultation about a permanent supervised consumption site, the Middlesex-London Health Unit found that overall, the city wants to support people who use drugs. Londoners also see the benefits of a facility in preventing injury and improving health outcomes.
Only one per cent of respondents didn’t see the benefit of a supervised consumption facility.
But there are also concerns in the community, particularly regarding the facility’s impact on a neighbourhood and public safety.
Research presented during the release of a feasibility study nearly a year ago shows that supervised consumption sites around the world are known to reduce public disorder, reduce syringe sharing, increase safe injection behaviour, increase use of detox programs, reduce acts of violence against women, and avert overdose deaths.
“When we talk about crystal meth, when we talk about opioids, it often conjures images of monsters, images that the people who are using these drugs have become something that’s really deranged,” explained Mackie.
What he’s learned, however, is that regardless of the drugs people are using or the behaviour they’re showing, they’re people who deserve to be treated with respect.
“Just that shift — that treating people with respect and maybe even a little bit of love — that’s a powerful shift and it will change the perception of the using community and will potentially change lives.”
As for how other tenants in the building are being made aware of the temporary service, Lester says he plans to speak with the landlord about issuing a memo.
“This has been such a rapid application process, literally, it was submitted a week ago,” he explained.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care paved the way for TOPS in Ontario when it expanded its response to the opioid crisis and asked the federal government for permission to approve and fund overdose prevention sites.
Comments