supervised consumption and injection

Overwhelming demand - a nice problem to have - has led the Drug Strategy Network of Ontario in collaboration with Canadian Drug Policy Coalition and so many others to re-open the opportunity to endorse the letter urging provincial action.  Timmins and Sudbury are among existing sites winding down this week.  Other communities have been stalled at the provincial level for years. Deaths and injuries are guaranteed in the absence of movement from the province.  Guaranteed- that's not hyperbole in the least.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Silence from Ontario Ministry of Health as Time Runs Out to Save Supervised Consumption Sites 

Sharing the recording from an online briefing hosted by Canadian Drug Policy Coalition on Tuesday March 5th addressing the recent and impending closures of supervised consumption sites in Ontario.

Here is the link to the open letter calling for eight urgent actions

Here is the event recording on youtube.

Adele Bodson is the Interim Quality and Education Lead for Addiction Services at Health Sciences North (HSN) in Sudbury, Ontario. As of May 2023, HSN has been putting together an application for a supervised consumption site.

Elizabeth (Liz) Dogherty is the Clinical Nurse Specialist for Substance Use in the Urban Health Program at Providence Health Care, in Vancouver, B.C.. St.

Casey Schapel is the harm reduction lead for Casey House, a specialty hospital in Toronto, Ontario, that provides ground-breaking care to people living with and at risk of HIV.

Janet Butler is one of the Clinical Nurse Educators with the Royal Alexandra Hospital ARCH Program in Edmonton, Alberta. Janet shares her experience and reflections working in the hospital’s supervised consumption service.

READ HERE.

Mark your calendars for March 5th, 11-11:30 AM EST!

All are welcome from your local networks, including media representatives.

Registration

All of Ontario is seeing an increase in drug overdoses, but the Northern communities, such as the City of Greater Sudbury, are experiencing an even larger increase. Governments are addressing this problem by approving and funding supervised consumption services, where people who use drugs can bring their own substances and use them under supervision. One such supervised-consumption site, The Spot, was approved in Sudbury but has not received provincial funding.

A new video released by CBC presents a humanizing view of the Moss Park Overdose Prevention Site.

It presents stories from those who use the site as well as information on how the site works and what services are available.

You can watch it at: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1400653379886?fbclid=IwAR148KGXUvV4uGgi_FAqlpwZoMBxgPYIK62nMKcaoDD5FFJmhgk8-aK6eqU