President of Alouette Addictions Services doesn’t want Maple Ridge to be overlooked when it comes to provincial services.
In the last month of 2021, the province announced a new overdose prevention site in White Rock, and Mo Korchinski would like to see the same kind of facility come to her city in 2022.
“We have huge overdose numbers and deaths, and we can’t keep not doing anything,” said Korchinski. “We need a safe place where people can use.”
READ ALSO: UBC study says more overdose prevention sites could mean fewer overdose deaths
Overdose prevention sites aim to prevent drug overdoses and overdose deaths, and reduce the adverse health, social, and economic consequences associated with substance use.
The White Rock site is the sixth in Fraser Health, joining two sites in Abbotsford, two in Surrey, and another in New Westminster.
2021 has been the worst year for overdose deaths. Illicit drug overdose deaths reached their most tragic level yet with 39 people dying in Maple Ridge, and 1,765 deaths across the province.
In October alone, 201 people lost their lives – the worst single month ever. That brought the death toll to 1,782 through the first 10 months of the year.
In Maple Ridge, there were already 35 deaths through the first 10 months of the year.
Fatal illicit drug overdoses remain by far the leading cause of death in the province, above suicides, car crashes, homicide, and prescription drug fatalities.
Fentanyl has been detected in about 84 per cent of overdose deaths in 2021. Carfentanil, an opioid used as a tranquilizer for large animals and much more potent than fentanyl, was found in 152 illicit drug deaths so far this year, a sharp increase from 66 in 2020.
The grim numbers have been steadily increasing since 2011, not only in Maple Ridge, but in cities across the province. A decade ago, Maple Ridge had only four deaths due to illicit drug toxicity in all of 2011.
READ ALSO: 2020 was deadliest year for fatal overdoses in Maple Ridge
Located at the Peace Arch Hospital site, the new overdose prevention site “provides people with a safe and welcoming environment in which they can consume their own substances witnessed by trained staff who care about their safety and security,” said a government spokesperson.
It will serve anyone who wants to have their substance use witnessed, mitigating the risks to them of ingesting contaminated or toxic drugs. People under 19 years of age will receive extra support and additional assessment measures.
READ ALSO: B.C. applies to decriminalize personal possession of illicit drugs amid opioid crisis
The site will provide people who use substances with overdose prevention education, Take Home Naloxone training and distribution, onsite monitoring of people who are at risk of overdose, and rapid detection of and response to overdose where necessary.
It will also provide harm reduction supply distribution and disposal options, and facilitate referrals to health services, including appropriate mental health and substance use services.
Korchinski said the relationship a drug user has with staff at an overdose prevention site could help turn their life around.
“They’re non-judgmental, treat people like human beings, and show them dignity and respect, and that can be life changing,” she said.
To date, there have been no overdose deaths at overdose prevention or supervised consumption sites in British Columbia.
For more information about overdose-related supports in Fraser Health, visit fraserhealth.ca/overdose.
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