Island Health hopes to set up drug-overdose prevention sites at each of the hotels and motels accepting people from the homeless camps at Topaz Park and Pandora Avenue in Victoria.
Kelly Reid, director of operations for mental-health and substance-use services, said the current plan is to have the sites open nine hours a day.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if we鈥檙e going to be able to pull this off in every site, but where we can, we鈥檒l provide both spaces where people can inject and be witnessed, and also inhale, because we know in Victoria a lot of overdoses 鈥� come from people who are inhaling their substances.鈥�
Health officials say the COVID-19 outbreak has compounded the risks associated with B.C.鈥檚 overdose crisis, with border closures disrupting the supply chain and undercutting the quality of street drugs.
鈥淪o that鈥檚 created an inconsistent experience for people who are using them,鈥� Reid said. 鈥淥ne time, you may not have experienced a very powerful effect, and so perhaps you鈥檒l use more the next time and then you鈥檝e got something that鈥檚 completely different and you could overdose.
鈥淪o the volatility and the inconsistency of the substances has been really problematic. We have had a significant increase in numbers of overdoses just recently and we鈥檙e quite sure that that鈥檚 one of the drivers behind that.鈥�
Paramedics responded to 141 potential overdoses in Victoria last month, up from 125 in April 2019, B.C. Emergency Health Services reports. There were 34 potential overdoses in Victoria from Monday to Sunday last week, and 35 the previous week when social-assistance cheques were distributed.
Reid said Island Health is working with non-profit agencies such as AVI, SOLID Outreach Society, Peers Victoria Resources Society and the Umbrella Society to get harm-reduction services and the overdose-prevention sites in place at the hotels as soon as possible.
鈥淲e find that our contracting agencies and peers are just so skilled at engagement,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o we rely on them mostly, actually. They鈥檙e doing the lion鈥檚 share of the work.鈥�
Reid said the agencies have already been visiting people at the hotels and motels to witness consumption and distribute harm-reduction supplies, while Island Health nurses provide additional outreach services.
As well, SOLID operates a pop-up overdose-prevention site at the Pandora camp, while AVI offers a similar service at Topaz, he said.
鈥淪o we think that, along with the outreach services that we鈥檙e providing now, we really need actual spaces in these locations that are safe and where people can use and be witnessed,鈥� Reid said.
SOLID spokesman Mark Willson said it鈥檚 crucial for overdose-prevention services to be in place as people move indoors, because the risk is so high of someone dying in their room if there鈥檚 no one around.
He said the pop-up sites at Topaz and Pandora provide a decent level of support and it鈥檚 important that people have similar access once they move.
鈥淚f it can be on-site, that鈥檚 ideal,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f it can be very close to on-site, that鈥檚 second best. And we鈥檒l do our best to work with everyone involved to make sure that people have the services they need.鈥�
Evan James, team lead at the Umbrella Society, said the agency will continue its focus on building relationships, helping people get access to harm-reduction or recovery services.
鈥淲e are good at making connections,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e know the ins and outs of the treatment world, the detox world, and how to point people in the right direction when they want to make changes.鈥�
Island Health said the overdose-prevention spaces at the hotels will be less elaborate than the permanent sites. 鈥淏ut I think, as we鈥檝e learned through that crisis, that even small distributed local spaces with staff where people can use are actually extremely effective,鈥� Reid said.
He said people at the hotels and motels will also have access to physicians who specialize in addictions medicine and have the ability to prescribe safe alternatives to street drugs.
鈥淚f they believe that safe supply is warranted and appropriate, then they鈥檒l be providing that,鈥� he said.
The B.C. government has issued a public-safety order to evacuate the Topaz and Pandora sites by Saturday. As of Sunday, B.C. Housing said it had moved 90 of about 360 people from the two camps.
