‘We have to keep them alive:’ Safe consumption site opens without provincial funding

There was no celebration, there was no grand opening, but there was plenty of relief as the doors of Saskatchewan’s first safe consumption site opened Thursday in Saskatoon.

“It’s our first day. We didn’t want to scare anybody off but we also know work’s not done,” Prairie Harm Reduction executive director Jason Mercredi said Thursday morning.

“We’re open on a limited basis … We’ll have a grand opening when we finally secure provincial funding.”

The provincial funding was not secured during the province’s recent budget cycle, leaving Prairie Harm Reduction with a choice: Open through community-based fundraising, or wait for provincial funding to be secured.

In July, Mercredi announced a new name for AIDS Saskatoon, Prairie Harm Reduction, and a fundraising campaign based around an online apparel store — just to open the site’s doors.

The community stepped up, selling out all apparel — enough to fund the salary of one part-time paramedic. But Thursday’s official opening isn’t what Mercredi originally envisioned.

He wanted a 24/7 facility, with access to supports for those struggling. Instead, the site will operate Monday to Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“We’re dealing with an overdose and a drug-using epidemic … The current approach isn’t working. And so we need to do different things, we need to innovate and a safe consumption site is part of that full continuum of care,” Mercredi said.

He addressed the myth of safe consumption sites being a “party” area or a place people go just to inject illegal drugs.

“It’s actually pretty quiet inside,” Mercredi said with a chuckle.

He walked through what happens when a client comes in to use its facilities. They are registered at the door, get a number, then move to a booth where they sit by themselves.

“They use at the booth, and then once they’re done using their drugs, as long as they’re not overdosing, they get discharged into our drop-in space,” Mercredi explained, pointing to more than $1 million in outreach staff.

The Saskatoon Community Clinic provided a mental health nurse Thursday morning, along with Saskatoon Sexual Health coming in to do hepatitis C testing.

“It’s really about getting people connected to services to help them down that path to recovery. If people are dead, they’re not going to be able to go to the new treatment centres … We have to keep them alive. This is Step 1 in a long process, but it’s nice to finally have this step in place,” Mercredi said.

Mercredi said the opening of the site happened because a lot of people came together to get the doors open. The board has invested more than $500,000 for the building alone. He explained how much of a relief Thursday’s opening was after a five-year wait.

“It feels like a large weight off all our shoulders … I couldn’t be happier, the fact that we’re able to get something in place because we’re done burying our clients,” he stated.

Mercredi said the latest overdose death numbers have reached 230, based on August reports. It’s the worst year statistically in the history of Saskatchewan.

He also explained the two demographics that are most at risk when it comes to overdose.

“White collar workers, or blue collar workers that are using drugs alone and they’re (overdosing) in their basement or their bathroom floor … (Also) people in the midst of very active addiction and their drugs are being laced with fentanyl,” Mercredi explained.

Safe consumption site becomes hot topic on campaign trail

Both Sask. Party Leader Scott Moe and NDP Leader Ryan Meili have answered questions about funding the safe consumption site in their first two days on the campaign trail.

On Wednesday, Moe stopped short of a campaign promise for the $1.3 million needed to operate all hours of the day. He pointed to the beds opened in Estevan for crystal meth rehabilitation and its work with mental health as positives in the battle against addictions.

“We are investing in (the safe consumption site) up to and including this year,” Moe said. “There are various ways that we can put forward supports for them and their families, and we’ll continue to do that.”

Moe said there’s “nothing saying that we wouldn’t look at funding” the safe consumption site, including that budget priorities are looked at annually.

Meili, on the other hand, committed to the $1.3 million at a press conference Thursday morning outside of Lawson Heights School.

“Harm reduction is extremely important … People are losing family members, and people are struggling,” he said. “We need to take the evidence-based steps to prevent those deaths and prevent that transmission of illness, and yes, we’d support (Prairie) Harm Reduction.”

During Thursday’s interview, Mercredi pointed towards the work it has done across Saskatoon and following government policies as a sign of potential good news from the upcoming budget cycle.

“When we look at what we’ve done for government, harm-reduction wise, we’ve delivered every policy win that we had in the last five years,” he said. “We are very proactive (and) we are very willing to work with government in everything we do.

“It’s clear that (funding) for this site is desperately needed.”

He also had a message for the NDP, after Meili’s commitment Thursday morning.

“I think we’ll take support wherever we can get it. Dr. Meili is very well-versed on this issue. Science shows that consumption sites are needed and I think it’s only a matter of time before we get provincial funding,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter who you talk to, they know the current approach on addictions is not working. And we need to be proactive and innovative.”