Ottawa Health Leader Calls for More Choices as Drug Sites Close

The CEO of a health centre in Ottawa, which hosts one of Ontario’s addiction recovery hubs, is emphasizing the importance of providing various options for users – including the supervised consumption sites that the province is planning to phase out.

“We’re hearing the province say they’re focused on recovery,” Suzanne Obiorah, the CEO of Somerset West Community Health Centre, told CBC’s Ottawa Morning on Wednesday. “And recovery looks different for everyone, which means we need a number of options to really address the full reality of substance use, mental health needs, poverty, housing instability and of course safety.”

“[People] move through the systems differently, which means that we need different entry points into the health-care system, into treatment, into housing, and then eventually into achieving any sort of stability.”

Obiorah’s remarks come after the province informed seven supervised consumption sites, including two in Ottawa, on Friday that their funding will cease in 90 days and those sites must submit plans “to wind down.”

The two affected Ottawa sites – one at Sandy Hill Community Health Centre and another run by Ottawa Inner City Health known as The Trailer 2.0 at Shepherds of Good Hope – are the last remaining locations in the city offering supervised drug consumption.

They have requested that the province reconsider its decision, warning that shutting down these services will likely result in more preventable overdoses and put added pressure on other health services.

Somerset West Community Health Centre – overseen by Obiorah – is among several Ontario organizations directed last year by the province to close their supervised consumption sites. They then shifted to new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs.

While both models provide some similar services like connecting people to housing and healthcare programs, HART Hubs do not support supervised drug consumption or offer needle exchange programs.

Health Minister Sylvia Jones stated that HART hubs will enable more individuals to opt for treatment rather than “enabling drug use.”

Obiorah acknowledges that HART Hubs hold potential but adds that “the issues surrounding substance use and homelessness are so varied and so interconnected that it’s really hard to suggest or pinpoint that any one single intervention is going to address these realities.”

LISTEN | Ottawa Morning’s full interview with Obiorah:

Ottawa Morning10:41Ottawa could be without supervised drug consumption sites in the next 90 days

Executive Director of Somerset West Community Health Centre, Suzanne Obiorah discusses another loss of these services in the city.

‘The reality is we have removed an option’

Since transitioning to the HART Hub model, Somerset West Community Health Centre has continued directing some clients to Sandy Hill’s supervised consumption services and The Trailer 2.0 site as well. Obiorah noted this requires considerable travel time for some individuals who have relied on her center for transportation support.

“That goes back to my prior point around people needing multiple options and different doors into accessing the supports they need to feel safe and gain necessary healthcare,” Obiorah said.

Suzanne Obiorah is the CEO of Somerset West Community Health Centre, which houses one of Ontario’s Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs. (Jean Delisle/CBC)

When asked if her center would have an increased client load if supervised consumption sites were shut down entirely, she responded that when one part of a system changes, others will inevitably “need to compensate.”

“The reality is we have removed an option available to support individuals who are living with substance use challenges and we are going to collectively need to continue coordinating access to our services including HART Hub in an effort to fill this gap,” she explained.

‘People will die’

A news release from Monday stated that this notice from provincial government regarding remaining supervised consumption sites was a response due to “local concerns over public safety associated with these sites.”

Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stéphanie Plante informed CBC that while these sites provide essential healthcare service, they’ve also raised worries about public disorder related specifically with drug use.

Ian Clarke, a regular user at Sandy Hill’s site mentioned if it shuts down completely; drug usage would shift outdoors where overdoses can’t be adequately addressed.

“People will die,” he insisted while adding he might’ve overdosed himself without access there.

Ian Clarke believes he may have faced overdose situations had it not been for support from Sandy Hill’s supervised drug consumption site.(CBC)

“Closures like this increase stigmatization for people who use drugs,” Cornerstone Housing for Women said in a statement Wednesday.

Obiorah indicated discussions about community safety must include vulnerable drug users too; monitoring impacts caused by these closures remains crucial moving forward.

“We’re really going to need think about a safe transition plan for a segment population who’ll now face [fewer] options available helping them navigate lived realities,” she emphasized.

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