As Ontario reviews its drug consumption sites, Windsor still waits for SafePoint approval
Health unit submitted drug consumption and treatment site application in summer 2022
Amid a "critical incident review" of Ontario's drug consumption and treatment sites, Windsor's SafePoint is still awaiting approval — which would come with much-needed funding.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Health said it launched a review of all of the province's consumption and treatment services (CTS) sites after a daytime shooting near a Toronto site in July killed a woman. The review has some sites in the province, which have applied for provincial funding, concerned about continued operation amid a worsening opioid crisis.
Windsor's first drug consumption site, SafePoint, opened at the end of April with federal approval as an urgent public health needs site.
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) submitted an application for provincial approval last summer, but it's still waiting for the green light.
Earlier this year, the WECHU, which operates the site in partnership with Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare, said it had enough funding to run SafePoint for three months. As of Thursday, SafePoint has been open for more than four months.
In an emailed statement to CBC News Tuesday, the local health unit said it continues to work "harmoniously" with the ministry of health and that it's "reassured" the province has all the information it needs, and "that the application remains in review."
WATCH: Here's why it took 7 years to open Windsor's first supervised drug consumption site
The statement continued to say that its current budget has allowed it to continue operating the site, even in the "absence of dedicated provincial CTS funding."
It's unclear how much the site is costing the health unit to operate.
WECHU added, "to supplement this, we have also sought out additional grant funding to support these operations," however, it did no clarify what additional grant funding it applied for.
In an email Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health confirmed it has Windsor's application and added that all sites are "subject to a rigorous screening process and timelines for the application screening process vary."
It didn't say whether the government's review of CTS sties would delay ones with pending applications.
Increasing opioid deaths in Windsor
CTS sites continue to be contentious, but advocates and health experts have said they are critical amid a worsening opioid crisis.
As this review takes place, recent data from Public Health Ontario paints a grim picture of the number of people who continue to die from opioid overdoses in Windsor-Essex.
Last year, 105 people died and five additional deaths are still waiting confirmation. That's an increase of at least 20 deaths from 2021.
Michael Brennan, executive director of harm reduction organization Pozitive Pathways, says CTS sites in Ontario are crucial in preventing overdoses and the provincial review shouldn't delay existing applications.
"Without having an understanding of whether we're going to have sustainable funding or not, there's always the concern that the entire service might not be there in the future," he said.
"I would hate to see this be something that becomes politicized because of an incident that took place in a city that is already experiencing these types of incidents all across their city, not just in front of a supervised injection site."
Brennan, whose organization has worked closely with the health unit to make SafePoint a reality, says the community should know WECHU submitted a thorough application to the province. He added, that includes an extensive safety and security plan that police have weighed in on.
During early community consultations, WECHU noted people were concerned about safety, security and increased crime.
In response, the local health unit outlined its security measures which included, a security guard, 24-hour security cameras and partnership with the Windsor Police Service.
WECHU also said it would track and monitor crime data.
MPP advocating for timely review of Windsor's application
Andrew Dowie, MPP for Windsor-Tecumseh, told CBC News Wednesday that he's been checking on SafePoint's status with the Ministry of Health and premier's office at least once every two weeks.
"It's no surprise that the review [of applications] is comprehensive and it's in depth and it takes a long time," he said, noting that they can take more than a year.
"I am certainly doing my part to advocate for that review to be completed as quickly as possible. We need these services in our community."
In the meantime, Dowie said he's not aware of any specific timeline to get Windsor's site approved, but knows its important to the community and is pushing to get it the dollars it needs.
Brennan says SafePoint is "running on bare bones" and long-term funding would mean increasing the social services on site, bringing in devices to test the drug supply and possibly increase SafePoint's hours of operation.
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