Former homeless shelter in Timmins eyed by CMHA as permanent safe consumption site
The Canadian Mental Health Association Cochrane-Temiskaming branch is looking to set up a permanent safe consumption site at 21 Cedar St. N, the location of the current temporary site and which once housed the city’s homeless shelter.
The association’s executive director Paul Jalbert said it is well-frequented by the local homeless and drug-addicted population, most recently seeing hundreds visiting Safe Health Site Timmins (SHST). He said it has all the right facilities to host a permanent site, as well as being the required distance away from schools and parks.
He said the site would be part of a larger strategy to not only keep people from dying, but also help them kick their addictions.
“In addition to providing a harm-reduction approach to this challenge, we want it be able to link people to services,” Jalbert said.
“Whether that be in-community addiction and mental health services, residential treatment services or acute care in-patient services.”
With the CMHA offering mental health, addictions, primary care and housing services, Jalbert said it’s a natural organization to run the site.
The key, he said, is being able to transition clients to follow-up treatment and supports.
“We will be able to facilitate that seamlessly,” Jalbert said.
“Because this is a collaborative project, we’re also going to be able to build bridges with community partners that offer different services.”
That means the site would be a central hub that people with addictions issues can turn to, rather than trying to navigate the system on their own. Local health officials have noted that vulnerable people have found it complicated to access the services they need.
Timmins’ new mayor Michelle Boileau said the results seen at SHST so far have been encouraging, which she expects can only be further boosted by a permanent site.
“We’re seeing the referrals to in-patient withdrawal management, referrals to other counselling and support services,” Boileau said.
“So, it is an effective operation and it’s important that it continues.”
The CMHA is planning to present a report to city council later this month and ask that it endorse the proposed location.
Boileau said while data from the SHST has been published since its opening in July, she wants to see a detailed report about its impacts and how making it permanent would impact the community.
She also wants to see comments from both SHST clients and others who would use the permanent site.
“What they would be looking for in a safe consumption site, is what’s most important here,” Boileau said.
The CMHA is holding public consultations on Dec. 14, the day before its presentation to council.
It’s calling on community members and potential clients to offer their thoughts.
“That dialogue will inform the evolution of our service system,” Jalbert said.
This is all in preparation to submit a formal application for the site to Health Canada, since it requires a federal exemption to allow the consumption of illicit drugs without fear of criminal charges.
Whereas the city allocated $1 million from its budget to the SHST, the permanent site would require provincial funding.
The goal is to have the application ready in the new year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.