Dryden, Fort Frances, Kenora, and Sioux Lookout are all looked at to see what they need
The Northwestern Health Unit (NWHU) commissioned a study that shows more safe consumption services are needed in the Ontario area because of the rising number of drug overdoses. However, there are still questions about how to get the general public on board.
People can bring drugs to a safe consumption site, which is also called a supervised consumption/injection site, and use them in the presence of health care workers. They have access to new needles, drug supplies, and naloxone kits, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
At the moment, there are 24 safe places to use drugs in Ontario and 38 in all of Canada. Thunder Bay is the only place in northwestern Ontario that has one.
Last spring, the NWHU and LBCG Consulting for Impact Inc. began the feasibility study. Thursday morning, the results were made public.After being late for several months.
The safe consumption study looked at what kinds of services could be offered in Dryden, Fort Frances, Kenora, and Sioux Lookout.
People who use drugs, health care professionals, service providers, Indigenous partners, businesses, municipal representatives, and the general public were among the more than 1,850 people consulted for the study.
In short, “there is a strong consensus among all those consulted that drug users in the NWHU region need more support,” the report says.
Dr. Kit Young Hoon, the health unit’s medical officer of health, said at a media briefing Thursday morning that people need harm reduction services before they go to treatment in order to save their lives. Addiction and substance use disorders are complicated conditions.
“Research has shown that the sites can help reduce overdose deaths, stop the spread of infectious diseases, cut down on the amount of discarded drug equipment near the site, and get more people to use health care, including treatment services.”
The assessment was done because of the alarming rates of opioid-related deaths and hospitalizations in the region. Between 2019 and 2021, opioid-related emergency room visits rose by 158%, opioid-related hospitalizations rose by 111%, and opioid-related deaths rose by 244%. All of these rates are higher than the provincial rates for the same time period.
Concerns also remain about the spread of infectious diseases, like the HIV outbreak that started at the end of last year.So far in 2023, seven new HIV cases have been found in the area covered by the health unit. Five of these cases are in Kenora. Last year, ten cases were reported, and nine of them were in Kenora.
Public opinions divided 
In all, 271 drug users from the four communities took part in the study. Everyone agreed that “the target population are willing and interested in using supervised consumption services and that they see benefit from it,” said Young Hoon.
People who use drugs, on the other hand, said that the stigma they face is one of the biggest things that makes it hard to put these services into place.
The report found that people had “significantly different” ideas about whether safe consumption services might help or hurt their communities. Some people think these sites are important for preventing overdose deaths, but others are worried that they will lead to more crime and other problems with public safety, like people hanging around and throwing away drug supplies.
“At this point, most research shows that there is no effect of supervised consumption services on crime near the site,” said Young Hoon. “There are even research reports that say crime goes down once the site is up and running.”
Young Hoon said that the health unit will continue to play a key role in educating the public about harm reduction strategies, such as safe consumption services.
How would these sites be run
The NWHU would not necessarily run safe places for people to use drugs in the area. Young Hoon said that instead, it plans to help the right groups in each community provide these services.
She said that there are several things to think about when deciding who would run a site best.
“This service needs to be available in the evening. It’s a service for clients. It is best if the service is close to other services, like treatment services, social services, and other health-care services, or easy to connect to them. There are also some organizations that already have ties to the target group.”
Health Canada says yes to requests for safe places to use drugs all over the country. Under Section 56.1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, an organization that wants to run such a site must apply for a federal exemption for medical purposes. It could also try to get money from the province.
Applications must include information about how the site will help people’s health, such as:
- How the site changes the number of crimes.
- Conditions in the area show that the site is needed.
- The system for running the site that is in place.
- How much money is available to keep the site up and running.
- Expressions of support or opposition from the community.
Young Hoon said that the next step for the NWHU is to share the results of the study with the right people in each of the four communities. This will help them figure out how to move forward with the recommendations and which agency or agencies might be the best ones to take the lead.
She said, “Northwestern Health Unit plans to help with the process as much as we can, so we will support the discussion and, of course, take part in operations if that’s what’s needed.”
Before submitting an application to Health Canada, a thorough plan for each site must be in place. This includes figuring out locations, funding, staffing, policies and procedures, and what other resources may be available there.
Roadmap of recommendation
Even though the NWHU’s report has specific findings for each region and community, there are also six recommendations that everyone should think about:
- In all four communities, there is a need for more services that help people avoid harm and get help. People who use drugs should use safe consumption services to lower their chances of getting hurt, having an overdose, or dying from an overdose.
- Health, social, and mental health service providers, as well as Indigenous service providers, should be in charge of safe use services.
- Plans for implementation need the help of key players, such as municipal governments, emergency services, Indigenous partners, and the wider community.
- Services that help people use drugs in a safe way should be part of a larger community-based approach to mental health and addiction.
- It is important to educate stakeholders and the public as a whole.
- Any services that help people drink safely must have plans for how they will be evaluated.
Advocates say that people who have lived must lead the way
Doctor Jonny Grek of Kenora’s Sunset Country Family Health Team has been working for years to get safe consumption services in the city. He gives people who can’t afford medicine on the street medicine wherever they feel most comfortable getting it.
Even though he wasn’t surprised by the study’s results or how people felt about safe consumption services, Grek said he was hopeful about the report’s results, especially since it put so much emphasis on Indigenous leadership.
Seventy-two percent of the 271 drug users who took part in the study said they were either First Nations or Métis (6.3 percent).
“Since most of the people who answered were Indigenous, services must be geared toward helping these groups. “It will be important to hire Indigenous staff, including management, to make sure that they understand the needs of the people who use services,” says the report.
Grek said he totally agrees with that analysis and emphasized how important it is for people who have been through it to be in charge of making and running a safe place to use drugs.
Grek said, “[It is] mostly Indigenous people who are affected by these tragedies of overdose deaths and blood-borne infections, so they could benefit the most from a site like this.” “That makes sense to me: it must be led by Indigenous people.”
Marlene Elder is a key member of the community coalition Kenora Moving Forward. This group makes sure that people living on the street have places to warm up and cool down and food to eat.
She said that the study’s results helped back up what she and her friends see and hear from drug users every day. She said that a safe place to use drugs has been at the top of their wish list for years, and she hopes that Kenora Moving Forward can help make that happen.
Elder said, “For us at Kenora Moving Forward, it’s important to make sure that the people, the users, are involved in what will work for them, or it won’t work.”