Thunder Bay gets $3M from Ontario for safe sobering beds to help people access support

Ontario is contributing nearly $3 million for the establishment of safe sobering beds that would be a first in Thunder Bay, to help those under the influence of substances access support.

Sobering beds, which are available in other parts of Ontario, provide a place for people under the influence of drugs or alcohol to stay for up to 24 hours. The goal is to help them stay out of emergency rooms and jail.

There are currently no safe sobering beds in Thunder Bay. The voluntary service also allows people to access other resources, such as primary care and addiction treatment.

The Thunder Bay District Health Unit had the highest opioid toxicity mortality rate in the province last year compared to other public health units in Ontario. Last month, the province announced the city's only safe consumption site will close by the end of March.

The creation of a safe sobering centre was among the recommendations from the joint inquest into the deaths of two Oji-Cree men in 2022 — Roland McKay and Don Mamakwa. Both died while in police custody in Thunder Bay.

"They did not die with dignity," said Janine Black, president and CEO of St. Joseph's Care Group, the organization that will operate the new safe sobering beds.

Mamakwa, 44, was a member of Kasabonika First Nation. He died in 2014 after being arrested on the suspicion of public intoxication. His autopsy said his cause of death was ketoacidosis, a serious complication of Type 2 diabetes, alcohol use disorder and sepsis (when the body's response to an infection damages its own tissues).

McKay, 50, was Mamakwa's uncle and a member of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation. He died in 2017 while in police custody; it was determined he died of natural causes.

It's hoped the safe sobering bed program will prevent what happened to these men from happening again, said Black.

"This is a chance for people to go somewhere so they are not on the street, they're not in the emergency department, they're not in police services, but they are being safely picked up and brought to a space where they can have someone greet them, let them get sober and offer them the opportunity, if they're ready, to reach out for further services," she said.

Michael Tibollo, Ontario's associate minister of mental health and addictions, was in Thunder Bay on Thursday to announce the funding for the sobering beds.

"We've identified Thunder Bay as an important part of the continuum of care that we're building in the community, but also as a place where we can showcase how the pieces will come together," Tibollo said of the province's plan for addiction services.

"Our experiences here will help us inform decisions in other parts of the province as well."

Offering culturally safe support

More than 30 organizations collaborated on the safe sobering bed proposal. Black said a steering committee is working on choosing a location for the beds, whether that be a newly constructed building or an existing space.

St. Joseph's Care Group hopes to open eight of the beds by the end of March 2025 and the remainder in the months to follow.

Black said there's a big emphasis on making sure the program is offered in "a culturally safe and trauma-informed setting."

"Over half of the people we serve are Indigenous," she said. "We will actually have Indigenous health associates and culturally safe care, including cultural practices and cultural medicine, available to the individuals who access this service."

Diverting people from jail

Thunder Bay police Chief Darcy Fleury said the police service receives an average of six to eight calls a day related to mental health and addictions. That means officers often spend hours waiting with people in the emergency department until they're medically cleared by a doctor.

"If we have those [sobering] beds and they're free at the moment that we are involved in interacting with somebody … that really does take an awful lot off of our officers," he said.

This spring, the province also announced $2.7 million in Thunder Bay for a new mobile crisis response team that pairs community paramedicine and mental health crisis workers. That team was launched following the success of another mobile unit involving police and mental health workers, who work alongside each other to channel calls to more appropriate community agencies.

Tibollo said the province will track the success of Thunder Bay's sobering program to determine how it impacts the hospital, the police service and other partners in the community.

"One of the things that we are extremely focused on ensuring is that we collect data and understand what the repercussions are, not just for helping the individual, but how is this … helping people that go to the emergency room and have to sit there for six hours waiting for care?" 

Having several organizations involved in the program's delivery is also important in ensuring there are no gaps in service, Tibollo said.

"When you have community-based supports and you're able to tailor those supports by incorporating other organizations that are also providing supports, you're able to look at the addiction as the complex issue that it is," he said.

"You're able to look at the physiological issues, you could look at the psychological behavioural issues, the spiritual issues that are foundational to providing someone the help they need."