'If I OD, they're here': supervised injection trailer opens its doors

When Ottawa's newest supervised drug injection site opened Tuesday in a trailer beside the Shepherds of Good Hope, Chantalwas the first to knock on its door.

Chantal, who didn't want to give her last name, has been using hard drugs for 20 years. Even after all that time,she says she worries about overdosing every time she sticks a needle in her body.

"You're thinking, 'Am I going to live through this, or what's going to happen to me?'" she said.

On Tuesday, for the first time in a long time, Chantal said she can feel saferwhen using.

"I know that if I OD, they're here."

The trailer, located in the shelter's parking lot atMurray and King Edward streets, received Health Canada approval Monday.

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Within hours of opening the trailer'sdoors, workers with Ottawa Inner City Health had welcomed at least three clients.

Private booths, TV

With eight booths and a large TV hanging above bean bag chairs not to mention the pot of hot coffee and box of Timbits by the reception counter Chantal said the trailer feels more comfortable than the city's other supervised injection site on Clarence Street.

"I like this place. You're well taken care of. People care," she said. "I feel like a queen."

Without the trailer, Chantalsaid she would most likely have used outside on the streets near a dumpster out of sight of police, or in a public washroom.

"But now that this is open, there's no reason for me to go in a washroom," Chantal said. "It's open here and they don't judge you."

That's the effect Anne-Marie Hopkins, who oversees the trailer's team of peer support workers, was going for.

She and her team are still ironing out the kinks after what she describedas a chaotic last few days from shortening the curtains hanging from the injection booths to adding stronger lights so drug users can find a vein more easily.

Still, Hopkins said she's thrilled to have another supervised injection site up and running in the city.

"We're a part of something really special," she said. "I'm just really excited that it's finally happening. It's been a long time coming."

Saving lives

Jason Miller knows first-hand the difference these services can make.

As a peer support worker, he's at the trailer to help the nurse welcome clients as they arrive.

"For me, it's not about money. It's about giving back to my community," he said,analoxonekit dangling from a lanyard around his neck.

A recovering drug user, Millersaidhe's been clean for over five years.

"I was in situations where my life was in jeopardy, and people were there to save me," he said. "That's ultimately the greatest gift that this program can give to anyone saving their life to give them an opportunity to have a better life in the future.

"It's solutions like this that will save lives," he said. "That's what we need."