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Ottawa’s pop-up injection site in Lowertown’s Raphael Brunet Park is closing.
“It is with heavy hearts that Overdose Prevention Ottawa share that we are closing the service we have provided on the patch of grass located at 307 St. Patrick Street since August 25, 2017,” the organization said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.
In the nearly 11 weeks since it opened, Overdose Prevention Ottawa says it received 3,445 visits, reversed five overdoses with the use of naloxone, “and prevented hundreds more through various interventions, including enhanced monitoring, providing a safe space for people to consume drugs, to be able to take their time, and experience connection and belonging within the community.”
The group said it was closing operations “this week,” noting that two official safe injection sites are now operating in the city.
“Although they operate in distinct ways from Overdose Prevention Ottawa, their openings warrant a reconsideration of the need for our services in Lowertown. Through our dedicated service and our advocacy, we have forced harm reduction service providers to respond, and have helped pave a path towards a more equitable healthcare system, one that treats drug users with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
The group said it was moving on to “phase two” of its work, which will be to monitor the ongoing need for injection services in Ottawa and to “take steps to ensure the health and well-being of those who are most at risk of preventable death.”
But while ceding safe injection services to the official sites now in operation, Overdose Prevention Ottawa was harshly critical of the government’s response to the opioid epidemic. The statement said it was “angry and ashamed” of government actions and singled out Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, Coun. Mathieu Fleury and Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins in particular, charging that they “profess to take action to address the overdose emergency in one breath and then deny services to people who use drugs in another.”
“Overdose Prevention Ottawa is not going anywhere,” the statement said. “We will remain engaged in overdose prevention work and advocacy.”
bcrawford@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
查看原文...
“It is with heavy hearts that Overdose Prevention Ottawa share that we are closing the service we have provided on the patch of grass located at 307 St. Patrick Street since August 25, 2017,” the organization said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.
In the nearly 11 weeks since it opened, Overdose Prevention Ottawa says it received 3,445 visits, reversed five overdoses with the use of naloxone, “and prevented hundreds more through various interventions, including enhanced monitoring, providing a safe space for people to consume drugs, to be able to take their time, and experience connection and belonging within the community.”
The group said it was closing operations “this week,” noting that two official safe injection sites are now operating in the city.
“Although they operate in distinct ways from Overdose Prevention Ottawa, their openings warrant a reconsideration of the need for our services in Lowertown. Through our dedicated service and our advocacy, we have forced harm reduction service providers to respond, and have helped pave a path towards a more equitable healthcare system, one that treats drug users with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
The group said it was moving on to “phase two” of its work, which will be to monitor the ongoing need for injection services in Ottawa and to “take steps to ensure the health and well-being of those who are most at risk of preventable death.”
But while ceding safe injection services to the official sites now in operation, Overdose Prevention Ottawa was harshly critical of the government’s response to the opioid epidemic. The statement said it was “angry and ashamed” of government actions and singled out Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, Coun. Mathieu Fleury and Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins in particular, charging that they “profess to take action to address the overdose emergency in one breath and then deny services to people who use drugs in another.”
“Overdose Prevention Ottawa is not going anywhere,” the statement said. “We will remain engaged in overdose prevention work and advocacy.”
bcrawford@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
查看原文...
