Windsor council greenlights new downtown location for drug consumption and treatment site

Windsor city council narrowly approved aproposed location supervised drug consumption and treatment site at 101 Wyandotte St. E.

Council voted6-5 Monday to approvethe new downtown location and the the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit's (WECHU)application to Ontario's Ministry of HealthandHealth Canadato operate the facility.

In January, Windsor city council narrowly voted to approve a location at 628 GoyeauSt., but plans for that site fellthrough.

The health unit had also consulted the public on the101 Wyandotte St. E. location, which had been thesecond option.

Health unit officials said in April they hopeto move quickly on opening the new site. Plans have been in the works since 2019 and were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The steps toward establishing a site where people can use drugs and seek help come amid an escalation in the opioid crisis in recent years.

There were 68 opioid-related deaths in Windsor-Essex in 2020, the most recent year provincial statistics were available.