Supervised residents-only Victoria injection site would be first in Canada

A supervised injection site proposed fora residential building in Victoria would be a Canadian first, according to the building's operators.

The residents-only service is proposed for the Johnson Street supported housing facility operated by PHS Community Services Society.

The former care home was converted to receive about 140homeless campers evicted from the nearby tent city in August 2016.

A supervised injection site inside the building "will mitigate a lot of the risk and the possibility of people dying or suffering brain damage," Andy Bond, director of housing for PHS, told On the Island host Gregor Craigie.

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PHS also operates Vancouver'sInsite, the original supervised injection site in Canada.

"When staff in a residential building intervene in an overdose, it's almost always after a significant amount of time has elapsed," Bondsaid.

"That's the time it takes for someone to run and alert us, for us to gather an emergency kit and oxygen and to finally get to that person who may be up on the fifth floor of the building.

"So the effect of that lost time is that the person is cyanotic or bluish from lack of oxygen, with a very low pulse which can result in brain damage," he said.

Treatment delays 'sad and overwhelming'

Bond said PHS stafffind the experience of scrambling to attend to overdoses "stressful, sad and overwhelming."

Staff have intervened in 32 overdoses since the Johnson Street building opened just over three months ago, he said, though it is likely more have occurred without staff being notified.

At Insite, by comparison, he said staff intervenealmost immediately when someone begins to showsymptoms of an overdose.

"There's little to no discoloration,oftentimes, and the person's pulse is much stronger, and the risks of brain damage there aren't any," he said.

The closed supervised injection site proposed for 844 Johnson Street is one of three announced last week by Island Health.

The other two proposed sites, at 941 Pandora Avenue and 2920 Bridge Street, will be open to anyintravenousdrug userseeking access to clean injection equipment and medical supervision in case of overdose.

Public input closesDec. 2

Public consultationon the proposed supervised consumption sites will take place until Dec. 2, including two drop-in public meetings this week:

• Nov. 22 in Burnside-Gorge/Rock Bay at Centennial United Church from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. regarding the proposed site at 2920 Bridge Street.
• Nov. 23 in downtown Victoria at city hall from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. for the proposed sites at 844 Johnson Street and 941 Pandora Avenue.

Chief Medical Health Officer Richard Stanwick said Island Health aims to submit at least one, but ideally all three, applicationsfor approval for the supervised injection sites to Health Canada by the end of December.

Bond said in addition to overdose interventions, there are hundreds of detox admissions every yeardirectly through Insiteand thousands of other service referrals and health treatments.

"Most importantly, it begins a process where we can let people know that they are cared for and valuable and that they are human beings who matter in the world, he said. "And that there is a space for them and that space doesn't have to be in a back alley."

To hear the full interview go to Residents-onlyinjection site first in Canada.