Addiction a 'complex disease,' city and police react to 4 suspected overdoses in 24 hours

Windsor police say there could have been three types of drugs involved in the string of four potential drug overdose deaths in a 24-hour-period this past weekend.

Police Chief Al Frederick said the ages of the four men range from their 20s to 50s, and police do not believe there is a "bad batch" of drugs.

"All of them occurred when other people were present," said Frederick. "None of them occurred in public."

After the deaths, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit has called again for an overdose prevention site in the area, something Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens isn't committed to yet.

According to Dilkens, the deaths that happened over the weekend and the idea that the city could benefit from an overdose prevention site "are not necessarily rationally connected."

"These aren't people, as some like to believe, that were hanging out in the streets and hanging out in dark alleys, overdosing," said Dilkens.

He mentioned he had spoken to the mayor of Vancouver, and said he was told that many people who are dying from overdoses are now dying in private residences.

Outreach van

When it comes to the issue of addictions, Dilkens said "it's a very complex disease," and that it's difficult to treat.

One way some community organizations are stepping up is through an outreach van that will be roaming the streets starting later this month. It's meant to get to those affected by homelessness, addictions and mental illness, to connect them with services and care.

"This is a trial and error," said Janice Kaffer, CEO of Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare. They had $100,000 extra from their budget they pulled to fund the project.

To staff the van, they turned to other places like Family Services Windsor-Essex and Assisted Living Southwestern Ontario. The van will run for six months before its strengths and weaknesses are evaluated to decide whether they should apply for funding to make it a permanent fixture.

"Outreach has been emerging as a strategy that has been very effective at building a bridge between care providers and help, with the people who need the care and need the help," said Kaffer.

The idea is to reach those who may be reluctant to seek help because of mistrust or not feeling safe in institutionalized settings, and then to build the relationships with them so they are eventually encouraged to go to programs at places such as Canadian Mental Health Association.

Kaffer said they are hoping to distribute naloxone kits, as well as hats, mittens and socks for the winter.

Naloxone and police

According to numbers released by the Windsor Police Service, officers have received 348 overdose calls for service this year, not including the ones from this past weekend.

That's compared to 352 in 2017 and 222 in 2016.

Ontario announced Tuesday that police across the province will be able to use naloxone on potential overdose victims, and if unsuccessful, they don't have to worry about being subject to a criminal investigation.

It's a move welcomed by the Windsor Police Association (WPA).

"It just means that we can go out there, make efforts to save someone's life, and not worry about a six-month investigation following up if that person dies," said Jason DeJong, president of WPA.

However, at present, Windsor police won't have to worry about that because they are not carrying the kits.

Chief Frederick's explanation is that those types of emergency procedures should be left up to paramedics.

"They're arriving very quickly, they're health professionals, responding to a health crisis," he said.

"They're the best ones to be dispatched and respond to a health crisis, not a police officer."