Lethbridge supervised consumption site sees upward of 90 visits daily

The first supervised consumption site in Lethbridge is seeing more and more traffic since it opened its doors three weeks ago and positive impacts from opening the site are being felt by staff and clients alike.

Stacey Bourque, of the drug outreach program ARCHES, which runs the site, said so far it's been a success and that the site has seen more clients than anticipated.

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"We've had over 160 unique users register to use the site for over 1,000 visits. Daily averages increase daily, but right now we're anywhere between 90 and 100 a day," she said. "Every visit that happens here means it's not happening in the community."

Danielle, 26, said she comes to the supervised consumption site to use her drugs every day. Before the site opened, she said things were sometimes scary.

"It was just — you were on the streets and it was just really hard," she told CBC.

 Since the site has opened, Danielle said she and others in the community feel more secure.

"It's at least safe and they have nurses on site," she said. "They actually make you feel wanted and they're friendly and they care."

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Bourque said the site is also saving lives.

"We've reversed about 10 overdoses so far," she said. "I mean one life is worth saving, never mind 10."