Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative supports overdose prevention site with public consultations

The Downtown Windsor Community Collaborativeis encouraging groups to bringan overdose prevention siteinto the city and believes one could be in place as early as the summer.

Anoverdose prevention site (OPS)would act as a temporary, supervised injection site funded by the provincial government where people coulduse drugs under the supervision of a healthcare worker and withoutbeing charged.

• Opioid users in Windsor say a safe injection site will save lives

• Health unit has no plans to apply for provincially funded Overdose Prevention Site

A site would also have an outreach worker who would collect data andconnect users with services that could curb their drug addiction.

"I've been highly encouraging some of those organizations to apply and have public consultations," said Sarah Cipkar,community engagement coordinator with the downtown collaborative.

Need for consultations

"I think that there's a lot of fear around it from residents but there's a lot of research on the other side that shows that they're very helpful and that they're very good at preventing deaths," explainedCipkar, who added she feelsthe community is ready for the conversation.

"We really want residents to be consulted, we really want businesses to be consulted."

An Overdose Prevention Site in Windsor by summer?

7 years ago

Duration 0:34

An Overdose Prevention Site in Windsor by summer?

The AIDS Committee of Windsor isexploring the application process for anOPSin Windsor-Essex after the Windsor and Essex County Health Unit told CBC News it has no plans to apply for a site.

Cipkarexpects any organization that applies will conduct public consultations as they decide where a potential OPScould be located.

Summer 2018?

"We hope that the summer of 2018will bring more conversation and also potentially an overdose prevention site to prevent some of the deaths that we've had," said Cipkar.

There were 37 opioid-related overdoses in 2016 and the number of opioidusers in Windsor-Essex is 18.9 per cent higher than the provincial average, according to the health unit.

• Windsor-Essex officials release 4-focus strategy to battle opioid crisis

• Sharps disposal container already taking hundreds of used needles off Windsor streets

"There's a sense that people don't want it in their backyard, but the reality is that using is already happening in a lot of people's backyards," said Cipkar, when asked ifa location in the downtown core is being considered.

She added the ideal location would be a"happy medium" a site near users, that is alsorespectful to the wishes of neighbouring residents and businesses.