Sudbury supervised consumption site closes indefinitely
Efforts to save The Spot have been unsuccessful – Sudbury’s supervised consumption site will close at the end of the day on Friday.
Amber Fritz, the site manager for Sudbury's supervised consumption, The Spot. March 28, 2024. (Alana Everson/CTV News Northern Ontario)
“It's an absolute tragedy that this community is losing this space,” said Amber Fritz, the supervised consumption site's manager.
“Folks who access the service here are absolutely devastated.”
The manager said the site had been funded by the city since it opened at the end of September 2022 until the end of last year and for the past few months by private donors while awaiting provincial funding.
“This is not just a Sudbury issue. This is an Ontario issue,” said Fritz.
“People who use drugs have the right to dignified healthcare and that’s what supervised consumption services are. We know that they save lives. We know that they save costs to the healthcare system. We know that they prevent Hepatitis C and HIV.”
The Reseau Access Network is the service provider for the supervised consumption site and officials with the non-profit agency have confirmed they have also lost another program offering peer-based wellness on the streets after funding from Health Canada ran out.
“Be trained on best practices for overdose response, they become street responders. They become referral networks out in the community,” said Heidi Eisenhauer, the executive director of Reseau Access Network.
“They are our access to members in community we would never have reached.”
Heidi Eisenhauer, the executive director of Reseau Access Network. March 28, 2024. (Alana Everson/CTV News Northern Ontario)
Over at The Spot, the manager said delays in provincial funding to keep safe consumption sites open will cost lives.
“We have heard the excuse of COVID delaying things. We have heard the excuse of this review delaying things,” said Fritz.
“I am not sure how much longer we are expected to wait or any community is because delays equal death – full stop.”
The Ministry of Health told CTV News that the Supervised Consumption Site in Sudbury was never under provincial jurisdiction but confirmed all funding applications are currently under review.
Officials with The Spot said since the supervised consumption site opened in the city there have been over 3,000 supervised consumptions and 30 overdoses have been reversed without the help of 911 or emergency medical services – calling the site a place of safety, connection and community.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'oesn't get' the global phenomenom.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
Student anti-war protesters dig in as faculties condemn university leadership over calling police
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war at at universities across U.S., some of whom have clashed with police in riot gear, dug in Saturday and vowed to keep their demonstrations going, while several school faculties condemned university presidents who have called in law enforcement to remove protesters.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Hamas is reviewing an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, as possible Rafah offensive looms
Hamas said Saturday it was reviewing a new Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, as Egypt intensified efforts to broker a deal to end the months-long war and stave off a possible Israeli ground offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
'The world is too messy for bureaucratic hurdles': Canada still bars Afghanistan aid
Ottawa has plans to finally stop blocking Canadian development aid to Afghanistan this year.
Harvey Weinstein due back in court, while a key witness weighs whether to testify at a retrial
Harvey Weinstein will appear in a New York City court next week, the first step in potentially retrying the film mogul after his 2020 rape conviction was overturned.