Free harm reduction, sex health supplies just a touch away at Winnipeg clinic's vending machine
Machine offers 'safe, easy, judgment-free access' to important supplies
People who need clean needles, HIV self tests and even socks can now get them discreetly at a free vending machine in Winnipeg.
The Our Healthbox vending machine, launched at noon on Wednesday at the NorWest Co-op Community Health clinic in Winnipeg, allows people to access safe drug use and sexual health supplies without fear of stigma.
"It's really safe, easy, judgment-free access to these types of supplies," said Shannon Milks, NorWest's primary care director.
"The goal is really to … remove all of those barriers to access, so that if someone is not comfortable speaking with a staff person or explaining what they're there for, they can still access the machine with some simple prompts."
The machine is the first in Manitoba for a program led by St. Michael's Hospital — part of the Catholic hospital network Unity Health Toronto. The plan is to install up to 25 machines across Canada this year and 100 in total over the next two years, a NorWest news release says.
The program also was launched in four New Brunswick communities in January 2023, and in Ottawa last October, the release says.
Dr. Sean Rourke, the program's project lead, says the machine asks users 10 questions when they first use it to determine basic demographic information, including age, gender, sexual orientation, employment status and their overall health.
"If you connect that with the supplies that people are getting [and] with when they're getting them, you can understand a lot more about need, and the services that people need to have at different times of the day," he said.
Users can choose to skip any questions asked by the machine, but Rourke says the program has found that people are generally willing to answer them. All of the answers to the questions are received in real-time.
"If we're reaching the right people and knowing what their needs are — knowing how those are changing in a particular community — that information is really helpful for an agency to know who you're helping and who you're not," Rourke said.
Another vending machine is expected in the next few months at the emergency department of Winnipeg's St. Boniface Hospital, Rourke said. The hospital already knows where the machine will be placed and will redesign the department's entrance to accommodate it, he said.
Preliminary data from the province's chief medical examiner suggests 391 Manitobans died of suspected overdoses between January and November 2023, approaching 2022's record of 418.
An August 2023 harm reduction supply survey by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority found that a quarter of all respondents had shared needles or other drug injecting equipment, with just under 16 per cent saying they had done so in the previous six months.
Data collected from the machine will help determine which supplies people are using the most, and the number of new or returning users, Milks said. It will also show NorWest whether there are programs or other services that need to be offered more frequently in the community.
Some of the items in the new vending machine are being donated by community organizations such as Street Connections, the United Way and the Southern Chiefs' Organization, she said.
"When we stock the machine, we can set and we can change … the number of total items that people can get within a day or within a month," which helps safeguard and track supply, she said.
There are similar versions of the vending machine in Winnipeg, but the one at NorWest is the first with the Our Healthbox initiative in Manitoba, said Milks.
The machine was placed at NorWest's main building since it has expanded hours. It's currently open until 7:30 p.m. at night, 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and even statutory holidays, she said.
Although the machines are part of a three-year program, Milks said the goal is to keep the machines in place permanently.
"The hope is that they can secure more ongoing, permanent funding to keep these and to continue to roll them out … in sites across all provinces across Canada."
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With files from Meaghan Ketcheson and Arturo Chang