Prairie Harm Reduction reports nearly 5,000 visits in 2022

It was a busy year for Prairie Harm Reduction (PHR) in Saskatoon as it continues to offer harm reduction services to those who need them.

PHR is Saskatchewan’s first fully operational safe consumption site, located at Pleasant Hill in Saskatoon.

According to its year-end statistics, in 2022 PHR had 4,978 visits — a thousand more than in 2021.

And while the number may seem high, Kayla DeMong, the executive director of Prairie Harm Reduction, said having more people use safe injection sites is what’s best for the community.

“What is really great is that we are seeing more and more people using the site,” DeMong said. “We are seeing really good engagement and people consistently coming for support.”

According to DeMong, Prairie Harm Reduction also administered 4,871 safe consumptions last year.

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A key stat they also looked at was overdoses. In 2021, four on-site overdoses were reported. In 2022, that number nearly tripled to 11 — something DeMong said she wasn’t surprised to see.

“We saw a lot more fentanyl coming through the site and a lot more people knowingly using fentanyl than last year,” she explained. “But of those 11 overdoses, we had zero fatalities and only had to call 911 one time.”

She said fentanyl has become the main drug they are seeing, regardless of what the user thinks they are taking.

“Everything we are testing, whether they think it is cocaine or crystal meth, is coming back as positive for fentanyl,” DeMong said.

DeMong said they handed out around 5,000 naloxone kits in 2021 and she believes the 2022 numbers will be about the same.

The Saskatchewan Coroner’s Service estimates there were 421 confirmed and suspected drug toxicity deaths in 2022, an increase from the record-setting 410 deaths in 2021.

With a jump in services and overdoses for PHR, the push for more government funding also continues as it currently runs primarily on donations.

And while more funding would be ideal for its services, DeMong said it is more important to try and create a system where they aren’t needed.

“We know that trauma is often an underlying cause, and we need a better mental health-care system,” she said.

“We know if we can treat the traumas, the substance abuse often improves.”

1:49 Overdose outreach teams being implemented in Saskatchewan