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Health unit community survey on supervised injection sites now open

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is asking the community what they think of supervisedinjection sites in an online survey available until mid-December.

The survey is part of a community consultation process that must take place before federal approval

Dale Molnar · CBC News ·
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit has launched a survey asking people for their opinions on having supervised injection sites in the city. (CBC News)

If you've wanted to weigh in on whether or not Windsor should have supervised injection sites, now is the chance. 

The Windsor Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) is conducting an online survey with 12 questions that is open until Dec. 17.

This community consultation is part of a process the federal government requires before it can approve the sites in a community.

These sites would be places people could go to inject drugs such as opioids under supervision to prevent overdoses. 

There are 12 questions in the survey. (Windsor Essex County Health Unit)

Theresa Marentette, CEO of WECHU, said some of the questions include if people see benefits in having a "supervised injection service" in the city.

"If there are any challenges they could foresee, any concerns, any questions they may have, and lack of knowledge on what a safe injection site would look like, where they think it could be," said Marentette, "Those kinds of questions."

Theresa Marentette, CEO for Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, says substance use is a complex issue. (Dale Molnar/CBC)

Adults over the age of 16 years who live, work, or go to school in Windsor-Essex are encouraged to fill out this survey, which will be available until Dec.17.

"Substance use is complex and requires more than one approach," said Marentette. 

"Supervised injection services have the potential to address the issues that we are seeing in Windsor and Essex County, including overdose-related deaths, public injection and discarding of needles, access to treatment and other health and social services, and Hepatitis C rates."

She said community organizations are looking into the issues as part of the Windsor-Essex Community Opioid and Substance Use Strategy. This survey is intended to help inform decisions around offering such a service in the city.

The health unit will issue a report on the findings of the survey sometime next year.

Clarifications

  • The previous version of the story said the health unit is conducting a survey on the public's opinion on a supervised consumption site, when in fact they want people's thoughts on a supervised injection site. The difference between the two is a consumption site would allow people to use all methods of consumption, such as through the nose or by mouth, whereas an injection site is restricted to only by injection.
    Oct 18, 2018 2:33 PM ET

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dale Molnar

Video Journalist

Dale Molnar is a video journalist at CBC Windsor. He is a graduate of the University of Windsor and has worked in television, radio and print. He has received a number of awards including an RTDNA regional TV news award and a New York Festivals honourable mention.

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