Recovery centre and safe consumption site will work closely

By Gillian Slade on July 13, 2018.

gslade@medicinehatnews.com  @MHNGillianSlade

There will be a close working relationship between Medicine Hat Recovery Centre and the supervised consumption site expected to open in Medicine Hat by the end of the year.

“We know that it’s a prime opportunity to meet with those clients right at the time where they may be starting to contemplate that they need help,” said MHRC manager Debbie Vass.

A mental health therapist and an addiction counsellor have been hired by MHRC and they will spend some of their time at the SCS, said Vass.

Some of the people expected to use the site may have tried to beat their addiction in the past and feel there is no point trying again.

“We want to be able to help them understand different strategies from a harm reduction point of view,” said Vass. “We really try not to say you’ve got to abstain or quit but more around what kind of goals can you reach.”

Helping clients reach this point may even mean attending appointments for outreach services and clinics with them, she explained. Since the MHRC opened in March 2016 there have been huge strides made in helping those with addictions.

“We have a better understanding of some of the issues our clients are struggling with as well,” said Vass.

Sometimes there are issues with housing, stability, or accessing health care, that affects someone’s ability to make strides in beating addiction, she explained.

There is a safe consumption site in Lethbridge and clients from there have been coming to MHRC for help, said Vass.

“We know that we are going to have a significant impact at the Medicine Hat site as well, helping them engage with services,” said Vass.

A startup grant of $900,000 from Alberta Health was given to HIV Community Link Calgary to start a site in Medicine Hat. Funding to operate the facility will also come from Alberta Health. The site will not supply illicit drugs. The user will bring their own drugs to the site. If an unintended overdose occurs medical staff can administer an antidote.

The most suitable area for the safe consumption to be located is downtown and North Railway areas, said Leslie Hill, executive director HIV Community Link in Calgary. In order for a site to attract those who would use its services, it needs to be located within a kilometre of areas drug users regularly frequent. The building also needs to be large enough to provide a range of services, such as HIV testing, addiction counselling, assessment for housing, as well as being accessible to methadone replacement therapy. These onsite services help to promptly address the person’s needs at whatever stage they are at.

While there has been lots of speculation about potential premises in Medicine Hat, Hill is not ready to make any announcement yet.

“We are exploring all potential locations in the North Railway and downtown locations. The coalition is not currently in a position to comment on a specific location. We will have more information mid to late summer.”

The City Centre Development Agency was to meet with a safe consumption representative this week to get more information on the possible impact of a site downtown. That meeting was postponed to next week, Jeremy Silver, chair of the board of directors, told the News on Thursday.

While the CCDA is keeping the best interests of downtown businesses in mind, it would need a “fair” or “logistical” reason to take an opposing view and so wants to gain a thorough understanding of all the implications first, said Silver.

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