Moncton and Saint John start legwork for supervised injection sites

Front-line groups in Moncton and Saint John are laying the groundwork for safe injection sites in the cities, saying they see the need and hope to reduce harm done to people suffering drug addictions.

A supervised injection site is a permanent site thatis granteda one-year exemption by Health Canadato theControlled Drugs and SubstancesAct.

This allows staff to operate the site freely without repercussions from the police.

Debby Warren, executive director at Ensemble, formerly AIDS Moncton, said there is a need in Monctonfor a place like this.

"We need to look at starting to establish a similar facility in our community to address the need of those folks who are consuming drugs."

She said 700 different people visited Ensemble in 2017 to pick upsupplies used to smoke and inject drugs, includingclean needles and reusable crack pipes.

She said each of those700 people suffering from addiction have people who love them, which putsthe number of people affected by drugs in the thousands.

And Julie Dingwell, executive director of Avenue B Harm Reduction Inc., formerly AIDS Saint John, said she's seeing it in her city as well.

Dingwellsaid her group is combining resources with Ensemble to apply for funding for a feasibility study. They hope the study is funded and started by April 2019.

Debby Warren said supervised places to use drugs give people struggling with addictions a place to access community resources and a safer place to use.

"If they are forced into back alleys where it's dark and not well-lit then the harm to them is damage to their veins. It could be infections to their bodies.

"It is about providing a place, acknowledging drug-use occurs, acknowledging we have a public health crisis across this country. Our wonderful little city did not escape that crisis."

Rather than judging and turning people away, we should be concerned about their health and safety because they are New Brunswickers, and they are loved by somebody.- Debby Warren, Ensemble

And, she noted, that there is a saying among her colleagues: "If you don't feel it with your heart, then feel it with your pocketbook."

Warren said between health care, police services and mental health services, dealing with addictions is expensive.

"It costs us money to do nothing."

Charles Leger, a Moncton city councillor, said he applauds Ensemble for addressing the issue of addiction in the community.

"We need to adapt, and sometimes those are difficult things to want to address, but as a society I think we have to."

Leger's Ward 2 covers most of the city's downtown, wherepeople congregateand many services for homeless people, and others struggling with poverty are already centred.

Warren said it's far too soon to say where an injection site will be, thoughthere is already a section of the city where she said it could make the most sense.

"We're looking at Mountain Road and Main Street, somewherein that downtown core, and we also have to be mindful there are families here."

"Rather than judging and turning people away, we should be concerned about their health and safety because they are New Brunswickers, and they are loved by somebody."

Needle-disposal sites

Two needle-disposal boxes have been placed at Monctonfire departments, and Warren said another three will be installed in parks downtown.

She said it's a step towardgetting needles off the street, but she'd like to see much more done to make drug addiction as safe as possible for everyone affected.