Calls continue for the Ford government to reverse safe consumption site decision
Posted Sep 25, 2024 05:07:03 AM.
Last Updated Sep 25, 2024 09:57:50 AM.
Local addictions and housing advocates have penned an open letter to the provincial government urging them to reverse its decision to close consumption and treatment services sites (CTS).
The letter from Supportive Housing Advocacy Waterloo Region (SHAWR) points to a pair of recent potentially fatal overdoses that were reversed at Kitchener’s CTS site at 150 Duke St. W. It says the examples are proof of the effectiveness of the sites and the need for safe consumption as part of wrap-around addiction services.
Barbara Hill, lead of SHAWR, told The Mike Farwell Show the province’s decision doesn’t make sense.
“We know that safe injection sites save lives. And, it just seems like the absolutely wrong time to take away a strategy that does save lives.”
Hill points out in light of other recent decisions, it doesn’t appear as though the Ford government is a serious partner in addressing the addiction issue.
“Why in the face of a crisis that includes serious addiction issues, why are we focusing on alcohol? It seems like an oxymoron and doesn’t make sense at all.”
The letter calls on the government to adequately fund supportive housing to get people off the streets. CTS to help them break the cycle of addiction and wrap around services to ensure those people can regain their lives.
