Opening postponed for Yukon's 1st supervised consumption site

The Yukon's first supervised consumption site won't open on Tuesday, as originally expected.

The site in Whitehorse will provide a safe and hygienic environment for people to use drugs under the supervision of qualified medical staff. It was announced earlier this year andwas scheduled to open its doors on Aug.31.

However, due to delays in facility renovations andstaff training, the opening day has been postponed.

Cameron Grandy,director of mental wellness and substance use services for the Yukon government, said the facility has to have enough trained staff and must meet Health Canada requirements.

"Just to make sure that when we do open a site, we're able to open it, essentially getting all of the needs of the site met and made safely operational," he said.

Staff training

Ensuringthe facility's staff are fully trained in harm prevention is essential, according to Grandy.

"The core trainings are going to be overdose prevention trainingthat requires naloxone training," he said.

"Harm prevention in terms of supporting someone to use more safely. There's having someone trained in being able to support someone in referrals to other Health andSocial Services supports as well."

Naloxoneis a medication that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.

Grandy says he hopes the site will be up and running in late September. He said that once the facility opens, anyone can access the services.

"It's available to Yukonerswho are using substances in a way they weren't initially intended," he said.

"It's for them to come and use them in a supervised and supportive environment to prevent the harmful impacts of overdose. As well as individuals who look to get connected to other harm reduction services to support their health care."