Calgary consumption site's approval to operate up for renewal as report shows crime has risen nearby
Site has had more than 54,000 visits since it opened and prevented hundreds of overdoses
Alberta's health minister says she stands by the importance of Calgary's only supervised consumption site in the fight against the opioid crisis, despite a report that crime has increased in the area around the site.
The site's Health Canada exemption which allows it to operate is set to expire in two days and is currently under review.
"I want to highlight first of all that the work of the Sheldon Chumir has resulted in over 800 lives being saved, of course something that I think is incredibly important in the midst of the opioid crisis we're facing here," said Health Minister Sarah Hoffman.
Hoffman said she's creating a task force to address issues in the area, the first step of which is a $200,000 grant to allow harm reduction agency Alpha House to create a Downtown Outreach Addictions Partnership (DOAP) team dedicated to the area around the site to clean up needle debris and transport users to the harm reduction facility if necessary. AHS says the site has prevented more than 800 overdoses since it opened.
"I think it's really important people feel safe in their community and that means ensuring that we are doing the important health-care work inside the building, but also increasing services in and around the neighbourhood."
I'm not going to apologize for saving lives inside the building, but I think there's still work to do outside the building.- Alberta Health Minister Sarah Hoffman
On Tuesday, police released a report that showed crime had increased in the 250-metre area surrounding the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre supervised consumption site since it opened in 2017.
According to police, calls for service increased 29 per cent versus the three-year average, compared with an increase of eight per cent in the city centre and a bump of four per cent in the rest of the city. The highest calls were for unwanted guests, suspicious persons and checks on welfare.
Calls for drug use near site increase, while rest of city sees decline
Calls related to drug use, possession, trafficking and found drugs soared by 276 per cent, while the city centre increased 21 per cent and the rest of the city saw a decline of 11 per cent.
"The data parallels the concerns voiced by the community," said Chief Steve Barlow, adding that Calgary police support harm reduction efforts, which save lives.
Barlow applauded the decision to create a dedicated DOAP team, saying anything that helps police officers keep the situation under control is welcome.
'Saddest pieces of police work'
"It's actually been very hard on all of the officers. It's probably one of the saddest pieces of police work the officers and other emergency services personnel are dealing with," he said.
"Many of my officers are dealing with them every single day. They know them by their first name. They want to help them, but the help isn't always immediately there."
Barlow said the drug most consumed in the area around the site is meth, which means both unpredictable behaviour from users and an increase in dealers flocking to the area to take advantage of an available client base.
"I want to deal with the people who are victimizing them, but I want the people who need those resources to still feel comfortable," he said.
Hoffman said despite the uptick in crime, she stands by the importance of the supervised consumption site as a response to the opioid crisis.
"I'm not going to apologize for saving lives inside the building, but I think there's still work to do outside the building," Hoffman said.
The site has had 54,473 client visits since it opened, and in December saw 867 people visit 5,858 times.
As well as consuming drugs on site, visits included picking up naloxone kits, receiving wound care and meeting with social workers.
Site's approval to operate up for renewal
The supervised consumption site is allowed to operate under an exemption from Health Canada, which is set to expire Thursday.
Health Canada said it has received and is reviewing the site's renewal request.
"Site renewal applications take into account any new information or changes, including information related to crime rates. All information that is relevant to the assessment of the application for renewal is considered and may impact the decision regarding its approval, including possible terms and conditions and the duration of the approval," the agency said in an emailed statement.
David Low, the executive director with the Victoria Park Business Improvement Area wants the supervised consumption site shut down temporarily — at least until the impact on the community is better understood.
"I think a serious reset needs to occur. I think the experiment — and I use that word deliberately, because this is the first time a supervised consumption site has been put in an existing urgent health care centre … needs to be for everybody. Full stop. I think a more fulsome accounting of the impacts of the site really needs to be done," he said, adding that he doesn't see his concerns as NIMBY-ism.
Geoff Allan, a homeowner in the area, says the police statistics have been reflected in his own experiences and that of his neighbours — one neighbour had human feces thrown at him and was attacked with a lead pipe.
"I'm at the end of my rope here," he said.
"I think it it validates a lot of our concerns that, you know, public safety is being compromised in our neighbourhood."
Coun. Evan Woolley introduced a notice of motion Tuesday laying out recommendations to improve the situation, including a call for a dedicated DOAP team.
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With files from Bryan Labby, Drew Anderson