Pubdate: Sat, 09 Apr 2016
Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.ottawasun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.ottawasun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/329
Author: Andrew Duffy
Page: 8

DOWNTOWN INJECTION SITE HAS SUPPORTERS

Addiction Treatment Agencies Say It's Needed

A coalition of addiction treatment agencies has unanimously endorsed 
the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre's plan to open a supervised 
injection site in downtown Ottawa.

"There is clear evidence of need for supervised injection services in 
Ottawa," Lise Girard, chair of the Champlain Addiction Co-ordinating 
Body, wrote in a letter of support obtained by Postmedia. The 
co-ordinating body represents 20 government-funded agencies in the 
region that offer drug and alcohol treatment programs.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, a longstanding critic of the plan to open a 
safe injection site, has said health care dollars are better spent on 
drug and alcohol treatment programs. But Girard disagrees. "I would 
put the money toward a safe injection site at this time," said 
Girard, also senior director of the mental health and addictions 
programs at the Ottawa Withdrawal Management Centre. "Because this is 
going to save lives. People overdose and there are new drugs coming 
on the street all the time."

Girard said the emergence of fentanyl powder, an opioid that looks 
like heroin but is 30 to 50 times more powerful, is likely to add to 
the death toll among injection drug users in Ottawa. About 40 people 
die every year in the city from unintentional drug overdoses.

What's more, Girard said, a supervised site would promote safer 
injection practices and reduce the number of HIV and hepatitis C 
infections, which are costly to treat. "There will be less infection, 
Lise Girard is the senior director of the mental health and 
addictions program at the Ottawa Withdrawal Management Centre. less 
death. It's a big deal. It's really something that will change the 
landscape quite a bit and make the communities safer because right 
now people are injecting on street corners."

Addiction treatment and supervised injection should not be regarded 
as competing alternatives, she argued.

"Anything we can do to help them progress along that change curve 
towards wanting to stop altogether is a meaningful step," she said.

Monique Brisson, executive director of Serenity House, called a safe 
injection site "the first door" to treatment for addicts.

"For all of us who work in the field, it's a no-brainer," she said. 
"We understand that's the best place for it (treatment) to start."

Serenity House offers a three-month residential treatment program for 
adult men, and is at one end of the treatment spectrum, Brisson said. 
It is designed for addicts who are ready to stay clean and sober.

A safe injection site, she said, is for another kind of addict: 
"These are people who are suffering, who need help and need to be 
connected to services, but they're not ready to say, 'I'm ready for 
treatment.'"

Mike Beauchesne, executive director of the Dave Smith Youth Treatment 
Centre, said the demand for treatment continues to exceed the supply 
of beds. "The demand is high for addiction treatment at all levels," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom