Drug injection tent pops up next to Nanaimo city hall
Overdose prevention site responds to perceived inaction by council, health officials
A group of volunteers, frustrated with delays in providing supervised injection services, have opened their own site outside Nanaimo's city hall.
The white tent opened its flaps on Boxing Day in a corner of the parking lot outside the building.
Volunteers trained in the use of naloxone to treat overdoses offered supervision and clean injection equipment to about a dozen drug users who came by on the second full day of operations, Nanaimo Councillor Jim Kipp said.
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Kipp, who said he is acting as a private citizen, not in his capacity as a councillor, said he became involved in helping to launch the unauthorized service because of inaction by Nanaimo city council and health officials.
In Nanaimo, 25 people died from illicit drug overdoses between Jan. 1 and Nov. 31 this year. Vancouver Island had the highest per-capita death rate in the province during that period.
"If we have such a high rate and we don't have a facility available for them, there will be more deaths," Kipp said. Yet, he said, council voted to send the issue for further consideration to a committee that doesn't meet until February.
"My view of it, as 'citizen' Jim Kipp, is that we will put pressure on the powers (that) be to create this quicker," he said.
Health authority aims to open site next week
A statement issued by Island Health said an overdose prevention site in Nanaimo is expected to be up and running within the first week of January.
Island Health spokesperson Kellie Hudson said the health authority is working to find a location and ensure the overdose prevention sites meet the legal requirements of the B.C. Ministerial Order enacted December 12th under the B.C. Emergency Services Act.
"The tragedy from one of those deaths is not just the person that dies," Kipp said. "It is all of the family, all of the friends, all of the people that feel they didn't do enough.
"If we can save a couple of lives and stop all that trauma in the community then we're better off," he said.
With files from Megan Thomas