'We had people waiting for the tent to open': unsanctioned injection site wants to stay for good
Organizers say they can't do their work on a 'day-to-day approval' basis and want to serve the area long-term
Organizers of an unsanctioned overdose prevention site that opened yesterday in Toronto's Moss Park say that while police relations have been "cordial and respectful," they'll need long-term support in order to help the public.
One of the site's founders, Matt Johnson of the Toronto Harm Reduction Alliance, said the pop-up injection site has been so welcomed that people were waiting for the tent to open again on Sunday so they could consume drugs such as heroin and cocaine under supervision of the site's harm reduction workers.
The tent has volunteers on hand to administer naloxone. The life-saving anti-overdose medication was stocked in case somebody consumes a dangerous dose of an opioid such as fentanyl, which has been found in a range of illicit substances across Canada.
Now that the tent is up and running, organizers want to see it become a beacon of harm reduction services in the area, but so far haven't received any guarantee they can continue to set up each afternoon.
"It's being worked on," Johnson told CBC Toronto on Sunday, referring to the complex negotiations between Toronto police, city and harm reduction advocates to figure out if the site will be permitted to stay.
The nurse who staffed the site on Saturday, Leigh Chapman, said she's been told "ad nauseam" by city officials that the only way to protect the site's activity requires an emergency declaration from the province.
"Without emergency declaration we are very much operating outside of the law," she said.
For now, the site's operations in Moss Park remain subject to interference from the city or police that could lead to its dismantling.
Chapman says that threat is ominous enough. But even if the tent remains standing, the lack of security has an immediate impact on potential clients, who may be discouraged from using the site as there's currently no guarantee police won't show up and make arrests.
"We can't keep doing this day-to-day approval thing," she said. "We're trying to build trust and connections so people don't overdose alone in an alley somewhere."
Toronto police were at Moss Park Saturday as the tent went up, negotiating with organizers. Superintendent Heinz Kuck of the Toronto Police Service cited the immediacy of recent overdoses and the "absolute professionalism" of the site's volunteers as reasons they decided not to take action.
"Although Toronto Police doesn't necessarily agree totally with an injection site like this popping up, because we do have the aspect of illegal drugs coming and going, the crisis supersedes that at this point in time," he said.
Site served 15 clients on first day
As organizers grapple with political strategy, Chapman says from a community health perspective, the site has so far been a success. She notes that 15 clients dropped in on Saturday to prepare and consume drugs under supervision.
One client, she said, was wary of the site, calling staff "too friendly" and the whole concept "too good to be true."
Eventually the client entered the tent and remained there after injecting, giving staff a chance to keep watch for signs of overdose.
Chapman pointed to that client as an example of what Moss Park's overdose prevention tent can offer the neighbourhood if it's allowed to remain open.
"I'm hoping to go back tomorrow," she said. "We need to continue to be there."