Consumption sites not the answer, says outreach worker
By Theodora MacLeod - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on August 16, 2023.
Supervised injection sites have been a topic of interest since their introduction to Canadian addiction care in 2003.Their history, however, can be traced back to 1986 when Switzerland began a program to combat HIV, which can be transmitted through the sharing of hypodermic needles.
The purpose of the facilities is to provide a clean space where people battling addictions can inject illicit drugs without the added risks of an unhygienic environment. Those who support these consumption sites hope to reduce harm, however many working on the front lines to help addicts, believe these consumption sites are doing more harm than good.
From February 2018 to August 2020, Lethbridge was home to one of the largest supervised consumption sites in North America. Managed by ARCHES Lethbridge, the facility saw upwards of 500 visitors in a day, but according to local outreach worker Alvin Mills, supervised consumption was never, and still isn’t, the answer.
“People might say it was a good idea, but I think the recovery process needs to be given a chance,” Mills says.
A former drug user himself, he knows firsthand the challenges people battling addictions face, especially those who are Indigenous. He believes that while the consumption site was open, recovery took a backseat to “safe consumption,” which did little to address the issue.
A proud member of the Niitsitapi people, Mills had concerns that traditional ceremonies were taking place in the facilities while participants were under the influence of opioids and other substances.
“When you’re doing ceremonies, there should be no use of drugs of any kind,” he explains. He also feels that the sites encouraged those living on nearby reserves to come into Lethbridge to use drugs and says he didn’t see many success stories coming out of the consumption site.
He recalls more than one occasion where he witnessed illegal activity such as drug dealing, and prostitution take place near the property.
Though the supervised consumption site is no longer running, a trailer in downtown Lethbridge with the intention of preventing overdoses has opened since; however it doesn’t have the same level of involvement with the actual consumption of the illegal substances.
For Mills, the key to caring for people experiencing drug addiction can be found in the land and traditional Blackfoot healing. For the second year he is running a recovery camp that he says will remove people from their environment and allow them to begin to address the trauma at the root of their addiction.
The Kii Maa Pii Pii Tsin (Kindness to Others) Deep Healing Recovery Camps welcome both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, as well as families and couples. While at the camp, they live in tipis and have the option to partake in traditional activities and ceremonies that encourage connection and healing. He says that at the core of his work is the desire to treat all people with compassion and dignity no matter their circumstances.
As the number of people battling drug addiction on the streets of Lethbridge continues to grow, it is clear more action is needed. Unfortunately, what remains to be seen is what the most effective course of action would be. 2
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