Outreach group recommends empathy, education when dealing with addiction issues

Business owners and a harm reduction agency are working together to come up with a strategy to address issues in downtown Sudbury.

Throughout the pandemic, issues such as blatant substance use, public defecation and violence have become more visible than ever.

While practical solutions are scarce, businesses are being urged not to judge.

Deb Brouse is the owner of Platinum Studio on Elm Street and has worked in the downtown core for 30 years. She said she's looking to help, while not having to get the police involved for people who are in distress.

"There's easier ways to have help right away," she said. "If we need to learn how to properly administer [naloxone]. I'm not quite worldly on that yet but, I am interested if I can help save people."

Brouse said she is getting to the point where she's seeking training and education.

"I'm a human first, a business owner second. I care about society. I care about people and I would never be able to just walk away," she said.

"So I think it's everybody's responsibility to be educated and have empathy for what's going on."

On Cedar Street, the owner of Raven Rising Indigenous Chocolates, Tammy Maki, said she feels like crying when she sees the dispossessed trying to survive on the sidewalks. Still, she said she gets frustrated with the amount of garbage and cleaning up after those who don't have access to facilities.

"When I leased this property, I didn't sign up for someone defecating in front of my shop," she said.

"I've watched people urinating on other people's business doors. That's really not cool."

Maki said one issue is there is a lack of public facilities in the downtown area.

"There's nothing for them," she said. "There's no washing facilities unless they get into housing for the night. I don't even know what the city has anymore because so much has closed."

Maki said having more public washroom facilities would "give them that tiny shred of dignity."

"Every human being deserves the privacy to use the washroom."

Working to respond in the 'best way possible'

Réseau ACCESS Network, an outreach group, has started offering forums to discuss harm reduction.

Kaela Pelland, director of peer engagement at ACCESS, believes the concerns business owners are sharing are "incredibly valid, especially since the pandemic."

"Services have closed. There is significantly less access to public washrooms," she said.

"Now, coming out of the pandemic, we're not seeing these places opening back up so folks just really don't have anywhere to kind of exist during the day."

Pelland said most business owners she has spoken with are frustrated with people loitering outside public spaces, littering or doing drugs in the open.

"Things have definitely changed," she said.

"As a community, Sudbury has seen a lack of housing and places that people used to congregate. There used to be a lot of buildings that people could be sheltered in where a lot of use would happen and it was out of the public eye. It doesn't mean it wasn't happening. Now those places are closed and people are forced to be outside on the street."

She added her organization is hearing negative feedback from business owners and the general public on this issue.

"It's more where to kind of aim those frustrations at the end of the day," she said.

"We're not focusing on the human beings who are suffering in front of us because becoming angry and aggressive with people who don't have access to public washrooms isn't going to get us anywhere."

Pelland said one session has been held to discuss the issue and 14 business owners attended.

"I really saw a room of folks who are genuinely trying to respond in the best way possible to the behaviours they're seeing," she said.

"Really looking at things through in a trauma informed way and with a harm reduction lens can really help when we're responding to behaviours we're seeing."

She also said the conversation focused on responding to these issues with empathy instead of aggression.

"Maybe you won't have to phone 911. Maybe that person won't have to be arrested," she said.

I think it's everybody's responsibility to be educated and have empathy for what's going on.- Deb Brouse, owner of Platinum Studio in downtown Sudbury

"Maybe, for example, if the community of downtown business owners if they were aware that the safe consumption site is open during the day, if they see folks using substances outside their space, they can maybe just say hello to that person, let them know that place is open and perhaps that person will go and use the service."

As for the future, Pelland said she's not aware of additional services to be offered during the winter months.

"It's going to be interesting and which is why I think having these discussions are so important because we don't know what the next month is going to bring us," she said.

"I think education and empathy is the way to move forward at first."