Island Health has opened a permanent new fixture in downtown Victoria that will help prevent deaths of those who consume some illicit substances.
Those who use drugs by inhalation now have access to an indoor area where steps have been taken to supervise the site and prevent any overdoses that occur.
This new service is located in The Harbour—Victoria’s safe consumption site located at 941 Pandora Avenue—and is the first fully enclosed indoor inhalation site of its kind in North America.
This overdose prevention service is part of an overarching service model which aims to get substance-users access to counselling, treatment and other health care services that could help save them.
“The unpredictable poisoned drug supply continues to take lives at a tragic, unacceptable rate across BC, including in Victoria,” said Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.
“More than half of the people who are dying consumed toxic drugs by smoking.”
As of the end of October, 2,039 British Columbians died due to the toxic drug crisis that’s been plaguing the province for over seven years. 130 of those deaths occurred in Greater Victoria.
In a recent statement, the BC Coroners Service issued a public health warning that there has been a sharp uptick in toxic drug deaths since October which has seen around 200 more British Columbians die in November alone.
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The Harbour opened its indoor safe inhalation site on Tuesday, December 12th after extensive purpose-built renovations could be completed.
Prior to this there was a temporary safe consumption site for inhalable substances which has been operating just down Pandora Avenue since 2021. It is set to close for good on Friday December 15th now that the permanent site is open.
Further improvements are being planned for The Harbour to have it eventually transformed into a site dedicated to evidence-based treatment modeled after previous successes in Cowichan Valley.
“The new indoor inhalation space will be a significant component of Island Health’s goal to reconfigure The Harbour into a Wellness and Recovery Centre,” said Leah Hollins, Island Health Board Chair.
“The Wellness and Recovery Centre will be fully implemented in phases over the coming months and is based on the Cowichan Valley Wellness and Recovery site, which provides harm reduction, overdose prevention, access to medication-supported therapies and treatment, on-site basic health services and connection to Island Health on-site mental health and substance use services.”
The site will be able to accommodate 24 individuals at a time and will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Island Health says in addition to being a warm, welcoming space for its clientele—an intentional decision to help reduce substance use stigmas—it has been made safe with a purpose built ventilation system which will meet all relevant environmental and occupational health standards.
