Calgary's 1st supervised consumption site prevents more than 750 overdoses in 1st year
'We know that we're saving lives. There's no doubt about that.'
Calgary's first supervised consumption site has had more than 48,000 visits since it opened its doors in late 2017 — and front-line workers say it's saving lives.
Safeworks, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at the Sheldon Chumir Health Centre, has seen a steady increase in visits with an average now of 204 per day.
"We knew this was a huge need," said Dr. Nick Etches, Alberta Health Services medical officer of health in charge of the site.
"We based the location of this site on the fact that there was a very high density of overdoses within the one-kilometre radius ... and the fact that its been increasing every month, I think, speaks to the fact that we've been able to build trust with this community."
The safe consumption site was created in an effort to curb the rapidly escalating death rates.
And while Calgary is still in the grips of a devastating opioid crisis, Etches believes the site is making a difference.
In the first year, nurses have reversed more than 750 overdoses by providing oxygen, administering naloxone or calling EMS.
"We know that we're saving lives. There's no doubt about that," said Etches.
'There's a need to take action'
Those who work every day with people who are impacted by the opioid crisis say the sheer volume of traffic through Safeworks illustrates just how dire the need is.
"This is [48,000] incidences of drug use that have occurred in a safe space rather than in the community. And so when people don't have a safe space to use their substances, it means they're using them in unsafe spaces, which might be parks and washrooms and businesses and alleys," said Leslie Hill, executive director of HIV Community Link.
With two Albertans dying every day of opioid overdoses, Hill believes Calgarians are more receptive to this kind of service than they may have been a year ago.
"Because this is a crisis, people understand there's a need to take action and that there's a need to look to interventions that we maybe have never considered in the past," she said.
"And that's really hopeful for me because we know that the supervised consumption services save lives."
But the opioid crisis is not confined by the boundaries of Calgary's downtown core, and there is a growing need for supports elsewhere, according to Hill.
HIV Community Link is awaiting approval from Health Canada to start Calgary's first mobile supervised consumption site.
According to Hill, the truck, with medical staff on hand, will target neighbourhoods in Calgary Centre (including the East Village), which has an overdose death rate of 94.4 per 100,000, and Calgary East (including the Greater Forest Lawn area), where the rate is 54.5 per 100,000. The areas have some of the highest overdose rates in the province.
Mobile site could be running by February
What's different about Calgary East is that it's largely residential, and drug use largely takes place behind closed doors.
"If you're using alone in your home, you're actually at much greater risk of dying," said Hill.
"This crisis has highlighted a hidden issue in Calgary but also across North America, where when people are using in their homes, they're at this significant risk. We're really interested in understanding what interventions might be supportive to people who are using in their own homes," said Hill.
The group has been watching thee other Canadian mobile supervised consumption sites, in Montreal, Kelowna and Kamloops — all of which have been operating for about a year.
Hill predicts that when the Calgary mobile service is launched in residential areas, it may be more heavily used by people looking for support services, since those are more difficult to find outside of the inner city.
HIV Community Link has wrapped up a nine-month community consultation process and the truck is now being built.
The organization is working to submit a community engagement report to Health Canada along with the planned locations. If the site is approved, the group hopes to start rolling with its mobile supervised consumption service in February.
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