Ottawa Overdose Calls Surge 19% After Closure of Consumption Site

BREAKING: New data confirms a staggering 19% increase in overdose calls to paramedics in Ottawa following the closure of the supervised consumption site at the Somerset West Community Health Centre on March 1, 2024. This alarming trend highlights the urgent need for harm reduction services in the community.

Since the site’s closure, which was mandated by the government due to its proximity to a daycare, residents have reported a notable uptick in crime and public drug use in the vicinity of 55 Eccles Street. The area has now seen 106 overdose-related calls between March 1 and September 30, 2024, compared to just 89 calls during the same timeframe in the previous year.

Ward Councillor Ariel Troster emphasized that the statistics reveal only part of the crisis. “The data provided by paramedics is just the tip of the iceberg,” Troster stated. “We know that peer workers and local residents have also been reversing overdoses, indicating a much deeper issue since the closure of the consumption site.”

Community members are feeling the effects of this closure profoundly. Resident Marna Nightingale expressed her concern for her neighbors, stating, “This is not some imported problem. These are my neighbours and they’re in very bad shape.” Nightingale noted that the clinic provided essential health services, helping individuals stabilize and seek treatment.

The site, which has now transitioned to a homelessness and addiction recovery treatment (HART) hub, is not meeting the critical needs that the consumption site once addressed. Nightingale added, “Supervised consumption allows people to stabilize enough to think about their future. That’s gone.”

The executive director of Cornerstone Housing for Women, Anne Marie Hopkins, called the closure a “devastating loss.” She confirmed that the rise in overdose calls was predictable, stating, “The unfortunate reality is that the closure pushes substance use outside into the neighborhood.”

Despite claims from the provincial government that violent crime increased significantly in the area since the consumption site began operating, independent reports suggest that the actual crime rate did not change as dramatically as implied. The government maintains that “drug injection sites do not belong within 200 meters of our schools or daycares.”

Troster urged Health Minister Sylvia Jones to visit the neighborhood and witness the impact firsthand. “We need treatment, we need supportive housing, but we also need harm reduction,” she stressed.

As the community grapples with these urgent challenges, local advocates are calling for immediate action to address the overdose crisis. The situation remains critical, and residents are demanding solutions to ensure safety and support for those impacted by substance use.

Stay tuned for further updates as this developing story unfolds. CTV News Ottawa is actively seeking comments from the Ministry of Health regarding this escalating situation.