Nova Scotia Health seeking proposals to set up overdose prevention sites

Nova Scotia Health is moving toward establishing overdose reduction sites in Cape Breton and Halifax.

The provincial health authority announced in a news release Friday that it's launching a request for proposals process. A total of $500,000 is available to establish at least one site each in HRM and CBRM.

Overdose prevention sites are facilities where people can use drugs under trained supervision and with sterile equipment.

An emailed statement from the health authority states it is seeking proposals that "meaningfully include people who use drugs or who have lived experience in service development and delivery."

Other criteria include the use of the best current evidence to inform the site location and practices and plans for ongoing "stakeholder engagement" in planning and implementation.

The ReFIX Halifax Overdose prevention site, located on the bottom level of the Brunswick Street Mission, is currently the only one of its kind in the province.

Statistics collected by the province of Nova Scotia show there were a total of 95 substance-related deaths across the province in 2020, most of them in the central zone.

There have been 44 overdose-related deaths recorded in the province this year to the end of June. 

Not enough

Mathew Bonn, the program co-ordinator of the Dartmouth office of the Canadian Association of People who Use Drugs, said the budget is a huge step in the right direction — but it's not enough to address the needs in the community.

He said $500,000 for two sites "is not enough money at all," when other expenses, including staff, rental space and supplies are factored in.

Bonn said for sites to be sustainable, they need to be open longer hours and accessible at all times. 

He cited funding and finding landlords willing to accommodate an overdose prevention site as potential barriers to establishing such facilities.

But, he said the province investing in these sites is a big help.

"It's going to be a lot harder for any government in power to take away these services now that they are funding them," he said. "It's a huge step forward for people who use drugs and the harm reduction community."

Pivotal location

The health authority and Bonn said the sites need to be as accessible as possible to the members of the community who need them.

Bonn said the proximity of the ReFIX location to other harm reduction services is "pivotal."

ReFIX is located near a needle and syringe program, the opioid agonist treatment centre, housing services, shelters and the mobile outreach street health clinic. 

The overdose prevention sites should "go hand in hand with needle and syringe programs," said Bonn.

Bonn said he's hopeful that the province's move to launch these sites will set a precedent for other provinces to increase their harm reduction efforts.

"We need these sites, and we need them in more places than just two in Nova Scotia," he said.