An additional $25,000 has been donated to support a campaign to renovate the future safe consumption and drug treatment site in downtown Peterborough.
On Tuesday, Fourcast — one of the organizations to serve in the opioid response hub at 220 Simcoe St. — announced a $25,000 donation from the Brian and Lynne Kelly Family Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough. The funds will go directly to the Light the Way to $160K campaign launched in September to renovate the hub in the former Greyhound bus station.
Initially announced in October 2020, the opioid response hub in June received approval from Health Canada to provide a safe, hygienic space for people to use drugs under the supervision of health professionals to prevent opioid poisoning deaths.
“We hope this donation encourages others to learn about the opioid crisis and make their own contributions to the Light the Way Campaign,” stated Brian Kelly.
Community Foundation co-executive director Jennifer DeBues says the funding will help provide services to combat the effects of the opioid crisis and provide access to counselling, programming, housing and income supports for clients.
“Brian and Lynne recognize that the opioid issue is destroying lives, shattering families and taking its toll on the entire community,” said DeBues.
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With the donation, the campaign has surpassed $72,000 of its $160,000 goal. The public can donate to the project at the CFGP’s site or drop off cheques made out to the “Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough” (include “CTS Fund” in the memo) at 261 George St. N. suite 202, K9J 3G9 in Peterborough.
The campaign runs until Nov. 30.
The opioid response hub will feature programs and wraparound services from Fourcast, PARN, the 360 Degree Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic (NPLC), Peterborough County-City Paramedics and the Mobile Support Overdose Resource Team.
In the most recent available data, from Jan. 1 to June 30 this year Peterborough County-City Paramedics responded to 244 suspected opioid-related calls — the highest number of calls since monitoring began in 2018. There were 36 suspected opioid-related deaths in Peterborough city and county.
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“Supporting the opioid response hub is an active step towards creating solutions to the opioid crisis in Peterborough,” said Fourcast executive director Donna Rogers. “On behalf of Fourcast and all the partners involved at the opioid response hub, I’d like to thank Brian and Lynne Kelly for showing such generosity and compassion with this donation.”
“Along with all others who have donated to our Light The Way campaign, it’s clear that many people support our vision to transform 220 Simcoe St. into a place that serves those in our community who are most in need.”
Rogers notes the consumption and treatment site is still awaiting additional funding from the province and no timeline has been set to begin offering the services. However, renovations continue.
“While reopening the site with CTS funding approval would be best, we remain committed to using this perfect location to improve the level of access and response to those who rely on our community partners for support,” she said.
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