Impending closure of Lowertown pop-up injection site 'bittersweet,' say volunteers
Falling temperatures, new sanctioned trailer behind tent site closure
It was a bittersweet day for volunteers at the city's unsanctioned pop-up supervised injection site yesterday, as Overdose Prevention Ottawa (OPO) announced it would be tearing down the tent site later this week for the last time.
Falling temperatures, the opening of a sanctioned supervised injection trailer nearby and the continuing strain on volunteers are all reasons the Raphael Brunet Park site will soon close, said volunteer Catherine Hacksel.
The tent site has been operating every night since Aug. 25, but with temperatures set to drop to –11 C overnight Thursday and only reach a high of –8 C Friday, keeping people warm was becoming a problem.
Last week, the city refused aid from the Ontario government which would have provided a portable generator, heater and an emergency medical assistance team (EMAT) tent to the site.
'Bittersweet' decision
Overdose Prevention Ottawa's site has operated for 75 days and had 3,445 visits as of Tuesday, organizers said.
Five overdoses were reversed, including one three nights ago which was treated with naloxone, the group said.
77 visits tonight <a href="https://twitter.com/odpreventionott?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@odpreventionott</a>. 1 complex overdose. Naloxone given. Purple powder testing positive for fentanyl. Thank you to our team.
—@mlgagnon_XVIIBut because the controversial tent site never received an exemption from Health Canada to operate, some deemed it illegal. On Tuesday, a supervised injection trailer behind Shepherds of Good Hope opened one block away.
Hacksel called the impending closure of the OPO site "bittersweet."
While OPO is encouraged there is now a 24-hour sanctioned supervised injection site nearby, Hacksel noted it only caters to injection drug users — not those who smoke their drugs.
"When we close, they won't have anywhere legally to go unless they have housing or have access to privacy," she said.
Strain on volunteers
Keeping the site open and operating over the last 75 days has also been difficult on volunteers, she added.
"We're expected to just go, go, go, go, go. And especially in this work, the idea of admitting that is hard. Watching our friends overdose is hard. Hearing stories about people being brutalized or harassed by the police is hard," she said.
"Some of us just need to chill, take a breath."
Exactly when the tent site will close is still up in the air, Hacksel said, as it depends on the weather and how long it takes to inform clients about both the Shepherds of Good Hope trailer and city-run site on Clarence Street.
"While the new [supervised injection site] is great news, it also means that we still need time to actually communicate this information to our guests, who are busy just trying to survive every day," Hacksel said.
Mixed reaction from neighbours
Pamela Simper has lived across the street from Raphael Brunet Park for 15 years, and said she's happy the tent site is being packed in.
Simper said she was frustrated when the tent site formed in August, and believed the trailer at Shepherds of Good Hope is a better option for drug users.
"I fully support that we have to have harm prevention within this city. We do have a crisis with opioids and other drugs, but not in a public park, not in tents, not where children could be exposed to it."
Adrian Merdzan lives five blocks away and said he had no problems with the tent site, calling it a "good initiative" and a good option for drug users.