A look inside Kitchener’s interim CTS site (8 photos)

As the opioid crisis continues to ravage Canadian communities, Waterloo Region prepares to open its own Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) site.

Waterloo Region is currently waiting on the province to review their application, but in the meantime, the region is moving forward with an interim site at 150 Duke Street in Kitchener.

Media were given a tour of the facility on Thursday morning. 

Clients entering the building will be greeted by a security guard and guided to the facilities on the second floor. Renovations are currently being done on the first floor where wraparound services are expected to be located.

After a basic assessment of the client's health needs and going through the service user agreement, they would be led the consumption room. The room contains two booths with mirrors, where the client can take their drugs while supervised by a Registered nurse.

Clients will be verbally guided on how to safely inject, but nurses are forbidden from physically assisting. Nurses will also provide advice and assistance on any health concerns the client may have. The hope is to reduce the burden on the healthcare system, by educating clients on safer drug use and how to prevent wounds and abscesses.

Afterwards they move onto the post-consumption room to relax and be further monitored for any signs of overdose. During this period, peer workers (people with lived experience) will be available to speak and connect with clients. Wraparound services will be located on the first floor after renovations are done, but for now, support workers will provide referrals for any social services clients may need. 

Violet Umanetz, Director of Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention Services, Sanguen Health Centre, will be running the day-to-day operations at the CTS. She says the will be they have a long road ahead of them, but are confident they can make a difference.

“The first indicator of success is that someone comes in. This is a new facility; it's something we never had in our community. It's something that people have told us they want, and we know will be useful and will save lives, but first is getting people to come through the door to develop trust in the staff that here; to trust the service that's here; to feel good about this place and to feel like it's a space where they belong.”

Umanetz says they will also be collecting as much statistics as they can to track their progress. They will be looking at the changes in behaviour around substance use, and whether people are accessing the necessary supports and community services. She says they want to be as transparent as possible to combat against people's preconceived notions.

“I think is going to be difficult to get pass some of those preconceived notions, but the flipside is we also seen a growing amount of community support around what's happening here, as people have realized that this is not enabling substance use; it's not creating a space for people, who have never used drugs before, to suddenly decide that this is something they want to try.”

Dr. Chris Steingart, Executive Director, Sanguen Health Centre, provides medical direction and guidance on policies, procedures, and staffing at the CTS site. They have researched several safe injection sites across the world, and he says each one carries its own unique challenges. And that the Kitchener location will continue to review their situation as the CTS begins operations.

“One of the challenges was doing this in a way, that we could be as sure as possible, that it's a sustainable service for people. We didn't want to start something that wouldn't last,” Steingart says.

Waterloo Regional Police are also involved in the CTS as part of Waterloo Integrated Drug Strategy. Inspector Mark Crowell says they realize they can't arrest their way out of the opioid crisis, seeing the CTS as a “tremendous resource to our community.” He says police do not condone illegal drug use, and that it will only be prohibited within the building.

“Individuals — clients — will be able to use illicit drugs within the facilities itself. But beyond that, there is no buffer free zone. Enforcement activity will still continue by police. We will continue to respond to calls for service. We will continue to be active within the immediate downtown area,” Crowell says. Police have plans in place once operations are underway, but the Inspector says they will be adjusting it as they learn more about the foot traffic the site attracts.

Located at 150 Duke Street in Kitchener — the same location as the planned CTS site — the facility opens on October 15.