News release – Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy
We need more tools, not fewer, to save lives
[August 21, 2023– GUELPH, ON]– The Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy (WGDS) is deeply disappointed to hear the news of closures to Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) across the province, including the Guelph CTS.
Consumption and Treatment Services are health services that offer low barrier, life-saving care in response to an ongoing drug poisoning crisis. This includes supervised injection services, wound care, drug checking services, distribution of harm reduction supplies, education and referrals to addiction treatment.
They are an essential, evidence-based health care service that is effective at minimizing harms in communities across Ontario.
“People in our community are visibly struggling with substance use and substance use disorder. Similar challenges are seen across the province, both in communities that have access to a CTS, and those that don’t,” says Jean Hopkins, Manager of the WGDS. “We can’t blame a complex health issue on one service. We have to view drug poisoning for the public health crisis that it is, one that is exacerbated by homelessness, skyrocketing cost of living and long wait times for health and social services. Like any public health crisis, this requires access to a full continuum of supports to meet individual needs.”
In 2023, Guelph and Wellington reached a tragic milestone. New data from the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario shows us that we lost at least 62 community members to substance-related fatalities. This is the highest number of lives lost on record.
Across Ontario, someone dies from drug poisoning every 2.5 hours. In a time of intensifying drug toxicity, we need every tool we have to save lives – not closures and restrictions.
While the WGDS welcomes a provincial commitment to services that integrate housing supports and recovery within a hub model, we are also concerned that this model will be ineffective without a full continuum of substance use care, including harm reduction.
“The WGDS has long supported a four-pillar approach to substance use care: prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery, and community safety. A move towards treatment exclusively will not provide solutions to this crisis,” says Hopkins.
The forced closure of the Guelph CTS will not prevent people from using substances. It will not solve the issues we are seeing in our community, and it will not prevent deaths. Closures of this life-saving service will directly lead to higher numbers of fatalities, public substance use and EMS calls. Additionally, the decision to withhold supervised consumption or needle exchange programs within the current proposed hub model will lead to an increase in health harms, illness and deaths.
“We are disappointed with the provincial government’s focus on only one aspect of the substance use continuum. Treatment and harm reduction services must coexist – they are not mutually exclusive,” says Hopkins.
WGDS asks that the government lead with evidence, not ideology, when developing services and legislation that will impact our community. We encourage the provincial government to consult with those most impacted, including people who access substance use services, health care providers, and drug strategies across the province.
Contact:
Jean Hopkins (she/her) MSW, MSc.
Manager – Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy
519-829-0129
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The Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy is a coalition of partner agencies and members of the lived experience community, who are working to implement a 4-Pillar drug strategy in the municipalities of Wellington County and the City of Guelph. The 4-pillars include: Prevention, Harm Reduction, Treatment and Recovery & Community Safety
