Impending closure of Lowertown pop-up injection site 'bittersweet,' say volunteers

It was a bittersweetday for volunteers at the city'sunsanctioned pop-up supervised injection site yesterday, as Overdose Prevention Ottawa (OPO) announced it would be tearingdown the tent sitelater this week for the last time.

Falling temperatures, the opening of a sanctioned supervised injection trailer nearby andthe continuing strain on volunteers are all reasons the Raphael Brunet Park site will soonclose, said volunteerCatherine Hacksel.

• 'Angry and ashamed,' Overdose Prevention Ottawa packing up its tent

The tent site has been operating every night since Aug. 25, but with temperatures set to drop to 11 C overnight Thursday and only reach a high of 8 CFriday, keeping people warm was becoming a problem.

Last week, the city refusedaid from the Ontario government which would have provided a portable generator, heater and an emergency medical assistance team(EMAT) tent to the site.

'Bittersweet' decision

Overdose Prevention Ottawa's site has operated for 75 days and had 3,445 visits as of Tuesday, organizers said.

Five overdoses were reversed, including one three nights ago whichwas treated with naloxone, the group said.

But because the controversial tent site never received an exemption from Health Canada to operate, some deemed it illegal. On Tuesday, a supervised injection trailer behind Shepherds of Good Hope opened one block away.

Hackselcalled the impending closure of the OPO site "bittersweet."

WhileOPOis encouraged there is now a 24-hour sanctioned supervised injection sitenearby, Hacksel notedit only caters to injection drug users not those who smoke their drugs.

"When we close, they won't have anywhere legally to go unless they have housing or have access to privacy," she said.

Strain on volunteers

Keepingthe site open and operating over the last 75 days has also been difficult on volunteers,she added.

"We're expected to just go, go, go, go, go. And especially in this work, the idea of admitting thatis hard. Watching our friends overdose is hard. Hearing stories about people being brutalized or harassed by the police is hard," she said.

"Some of us just need to chill, take a breath."

Exactly when the tent site will close is still up in the air, Hacksel said, as it depends on the weather and how long it takes to inform clients about both the Shepherds of Good Hope trailer and city-run site onClarence Street.

• City could make supervised injection site on Clarence Street permanent

"While the new [supervised injection site] is great news, it also means that we still need time to actually communicate this information to our guests, who are busy just trying to survive every day," Hacksel said.

Mixed reaction from neighbours

Pamela Simper has lived across the street from Raphael Brunet Park for 15 years, and said she'shappy the tent site is being packed in.

Simper said she wasfrustrated when the tent site formed in August, and believed the trailer at Shepherds of Good Hope is a better option for drug users.

"I fully support that we have to have harm prevention within this city. We do have a crisis with opioids and other drugs, but not in a public park, not in tents, not where children could be exposed to it."

Adrian Merdzan lives five blocks away and said he had no problems with the tent site, calling it a "good initiative" and a good option for drug users.