Regional councillor advocating for continued funding for safe consumption site in Kitchener
Posted Sep 9, 2024 07:02:50 AM.
Last Updated Sep 10, 2024 12:28:41 PM.
A regional councillor is backing Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) sites and pushing the provincial government to reconsider their decision to close sites near schools and daycares.
Councillor Rob Deutschmann wants to use his political power and will bring forward a motion at regional headquarters to keep the funding for the safe consumption site in Waterloo Region flowing after the proposed termination date in March 2025.
In August, the Provincial Government announced that supervised CTS locations within 200 metres of schools and daycares will shut down.
Deutschmann says CTS sites “have been instrumental in preventing thousands of drug overdose deaths”.
Since the Sanguen Health Centre on Duke Street in downtown Kitchener opened in October of 2019 they’ve had more than 53,000 visits, and their monthly visitors has steadily increased from 200 at the time of opening to more than 1,500 in July.
According to Sanguen, there is no evidence that safe consumption services lead to higher rates of substance use initiation or relapse.
Waterloo Regional Police statistics indicate that the site has not been linked to an increase in crime in its vicinity.
However, convincing the provincial government to reverse their decision may be an uphill battle for Deutschmann and any councilor in Ontario.
In August, Premier Doug Ford called CTS sites “the worst thing that could ever happen to a community”, and doubled down on the provincial governments efforts to redirect funding to Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs.
The motion will be discussed at the Community and Health Services Committee meeting on Tuesday.
