Drug users, survivors call supervised drinking places a lifeline

Near Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, a man named Justin says without supervised drug use sites, he would be more likely to overdose.

He uses the city’s surveillance sites almost daily, mainly the Sandy Hill location.

Not only does it provide a safe space for him to use drugs with the supervision of trained professionals, but the staff support is “wonderful”.

“They’re right at the front door waiting for me,” he said. “‘Hey Justin!’ And (they) shake my hand and it’s a nice feeling, man — it makes me feel wanted and it makes me feel important.”

But last week, the provincial government announced the site at the Somerset West Community Health Center will have to close, one of 10 sites across Ontario forced to do so.

Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones said all sites within 200 meters of a school or child care center will be forced to close by March 2025.

Justin said he was shocked by the announcement and feared other sites in the city could follow suit.

“I would be very, very lost without him,” he said. “Using fentanyl by myself can be very dangerous because I could overdose and no one is there to see.”

Sandy Hill Community Health Center is home to one of four supervised drug use sites in Ottawa. The Somerset West location, just west of the city centre, is being forced to close operations by March 2025. (Patrick Louiseize/CBC)

Another Ottawa resident, Gerald Jorgensen, told the CBC shortly after last week’s announcement that he was once a fentanyl user and visited the Somerset West site many times.

“There was an incident where I overdosed here (at the scene) and if I had been on the street, I might have died,” Jorgensen said.

“But luckily I was here and I survived. Today I’m in recovery as a result of that.”

Now 19 months sober, Jorgensen said he connects with the homeless by walking around delivering clothes, food and medical treatment. He also tries to find and help people who want to recover like he did.

Fewer options, more risk

Rob Boyd, executive director of Ottawa Inner City Health, said their supervised drug use site — known as “The Trailer” — is the busiest in the city, with 150 to 250 visits daily.

“We know these sites are critical to any strategy to combat the toxic drug crisis,” Boyd said.

His organization was devastated, he said, when they heard the province’s announcement. Boyd said it leaves those using the Somerset West site with three options.

“They can inject in public spaces, they can come to downtown places, or they can inject in their private homes — but that puts them at significant risk of dying from an opioid overdose,” he said.

Now, he’s left wondering about the future of his site, constantly worried that the province could shut it down very quickly.

Rob Boyd is the executive director of Ottawa Inner City Health, which runs what it says is Ottawa’s busiest supervised drug use site. Boyd says 150 to 250 people use it every day. (Patrick Louiseize/CBC)

Drug concern

In 2022, Natalie Bergin lost her 21-year-old son William to an overdose.

William was a bright student, a pilot and had generalized anxiety disorder, Bergin said. From her understanding, he was using drugs only two weeks before his death.

There’s absolutely a place for supervised drug sites to increase user safety, Bergin said — but she wants more.

“My number one goal is justice for overdose victims and destigmatization,” said Bergin, who created a nonprofit organization called Trace the Lace after her son’s death.

The group is advocating for stronger efforts to stop and punish those selling drugs on the street, which it said is contributing to the number of overdoses.

“We are here to tell people that it’s not about politics, it’s about our children. It’s a loss that no parent ever wants to go through, and that’s the dialogue we’re missing right now.”