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Somerset West Community Health Centre has received permission to open what will become the city’s first supervised injection site outside of the Lowertown and ByWard Market area.
The centre, located on Eccles Street just south of Somerset Street West in Chinatown, said Monday that Health Canada has granted it an exemption from federal drug laws that will allow the site to legally open, although renovation work still has to be done. No opening date has been set.
Somerset Ward, according to Ottawa Public Health, had the second highest rate of emergency room visits in the city related to unintentional drug overdoses between 2013 and 2015. It also had the second highest number of injection drug users diagnosed with HIV or hepatitis C between 2011 and 2014 in the city.
A spokesperson for the community centre said clients say they frequently use drugs in public washrooms, alleys, parks or doorways.
“The lack of a safe space to inject drugs in the Somerset ward has resulted in a tragic increase in opioid overdose incidents, deaths and community trauma experienced by residents and our clients,” said Naini Cloutier, executive director.
“A supervised injection services is essential, because members of our community are dying. They are our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters.”
Ottawa currently has two supervised injection sites operating in Lowertown and the ByWard Market — in a trailer at the Shepherds of Good Hope and in an Ottawa Public Health office on Clarence Street. The largest one, planned for the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, was expected to open this fall, but construction and funding have delayed it.
Somerset West offers a range of harm-reduction services such as crack pipes and new injection supplies.
Those who use the supervised injection site will also receive help finding food, housing and other basic needs, social support and health services.
epayne@postmedia.com
查看原文...
The centre, located on Eccles Street just south of Somerset Street West in Chinatown, said Monday that Health Canada has granted it an exemption from federal drug laws that will allow the site to legally open, although renovation work still has to be done. No opening date has been set.
Somerset Ward, according to Ottawa Public Health, had the second highest rate of emergency room visits in the city related to unintentional drug overdoses between 2013 and 2015. It also had the second highest number of injection drug users diagnosed with HIV or hepatitis C between 2011 and 2014 in the city.
A spokesperson for the community centre said clients say they frequently use drugs in public washrooms, alleys, parks or doorways.
“The lack of a safe space to inject drugs in the Somerset ward has resulted in a tragic increase in opioid overdose incidents, deaths and community trauma experienced by residents and our clients,” said Naini Cloutier, executive director.
“A supervised injection services is essential, because members of our community are dying. They are our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters.”
Ottawa currently has two supervised injection sites operating in Lowertown and the ByWard Market — in a trailer at the Shepherds of Good Hope and in an Ottawa Public Health office on Clarence Street. The largest one, planned for the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, was expected to open this fall, but construction and funding have delayed it.
Somerset West offers a range of harm-reduction services such as crack pipes and new injection supplies.
Those who use the supervised injection site will also receive help finding food, housing and other basic needs, social support and health services.
epayne@postmedia.com
查看原文...
