After a supervised consumption site in Ottawa’s Centretown closed, officials said public drug use is expected to increase.
The closure of the supervised injection site at the Somerset West Community Health Centre earlier this month was quickly followed by complaints about people using injection drugs in public, according to Somerset Ward Coun. Ariel Troster.
Concerns about public drug consumption in Centretown have been growing in recent years, but both Troster and Somerset West CEO Suzanne Obiorah predict public drug use will likely increase in the community that is among the hardest hit by the toxic drug crisis.
Somerset West operated one of 10 supervised consumption sites ordered to close by the provincial government because of their proximity to schools and daycares. Sites had until the end of March to close. Somerset West closed its supervised injection site early, at the beginning of March, to allow for renovations necessary for the opening of a provincially funded Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hub, set to open in phases, starting at the beginning of April.
Obiorah said Somerset West will continue to offer some supervised consumption services until the end of March — including needle exchange — but the supervised injection site is now closed and as of the end of this month, needle exchange services will also end.
Even with the opening of a HART hub which will support the recovery, health and housing needs of people with substance use and mental health issues and those experiencing homelessness, there will be a gap in the community with the closure of the supervised consumption site, said Obiorah.
“I completely understand the concerns that many in our community are experiencing. We are living through a toxic drug crisis, we are living through a housing crisis and we just experienced the loss of a consumption and treatment service in our community. As a result, more people may be using drugs alone and or we are going to see increased use in public spaces,” said Obiorah.
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She noted that Toronto-based research indicates people won’t travel more than 500 metres to use a supervised consumption site. With the closure of the Somerset West site, the closest is four kilometres away at Inner City Health, she said. The Somerset West site was originally opened because its neighbourhood had the second-highest rate of drug deaths and bloodborne illnesses in the city.
Troster said Somerset West is hoping to offer “great things” to the community with its HART hub, “but there is no doubt there is a serious gap that we are already seeing.”
She called the closure of nearly half of the supervised consumption sites in the province an “ideological attack on harm reduction. The government has turned away from evidence-based policy.” In a social media post about complaints of public drug use after the closure of the supervised consumption site, Troster wrote: “The Somerset West Community Health Centre just closed its supervised consumption site on Friday, after being forced to by the Ford government. Decisions have consequences.”
Along with housing and recovery supports, Troster said there need to be more supervised consumption services.
“The No. 1 issue I hear about right now is public drug use in the neighbourhood,” said Troster. She said it is partly a function of increasing drug use and a high degree of brain injury among some people who use drugs.
Troster said there used to be a street code that people didn’t use drugs in places where children were, but that has “totally fallen apart.”
Troster is optimistic that housing supports that are part of the HART hub will make a difference for some of those in greatest need in the community. Paramedics are also working in Centretown, as they have been in the ByWard Market, and there will be more outreach in the community.
But Troster added that there is no evidence shutting down the supervised consumption site is going to make the community safer.
“A lot of residents and businesses didn’t like the supervised consumption site. I know it can be hard to live near. But I am incredibly skeptical that taking away the one indoor place where people can use drugs and not die is going to make the problems better.”
