The last two supervised consumption sites in Ottawa have shut their doors this weekend as the province ends their funding and shifts focus to recovery and treatment. There were two remaining supervised consumption sites in the city. The Sandy Hill Community Health Centre on Rideau Street and Nelson Street, and the other known as “The Trailer” on King Edward and Murray Avenue, operated by Ottawa Inner City Health. Jason DeMille says he turned to the consumption sites when he needed them most. “They saved my life countless times,” he said. He says he was prescribed pain medication, which led to an addiction that changed his life. DeMille now lives in Peterborough but leaned heavily on the services once offered at The Trailer. “Saved me going to the hospital, saved me having to call an ambulance, so it freed up an ambulance,” he said. “I never saw one person die when I was in the sites.” Today, he’s been in recovery since 2020 but he worries the closure is putting lives at risk. “I think there’s going to be a lot more needless deaths coming,” he said. The provincial government says its new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Centres, known as HART Hubs, will focus on recovery and treatment services. Dean Dewar, director of consumption and treatment services at the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, says the services acted as a bridge to other forms of healthcare for clients. “We see our clients and we see the opportunities that we provide our clients here at the safe consumption site, and to not have that is just devastating.” He says before the closure, the group saw an average of 17,00 visits per month. “We do expect to see an increase in drug use, in needles being discarded and some disorder,” said Dewar. “And an increase in EMS calls.” Some residents support the move to close. Jacob Antonadis has lived in the area for six years. He says he has seen issues of open drug use in an area that is near homes and businesses. “I think it’s going to be harder for those individuals that rely on it for health and safety. I’m a bit worried about where they’ll disperse, too, in a sense,” he said. “But overall, I felt as if that safe consumption site has been proven to potentially be more dangerous for the average person that lives in this neighborhood because of how they conglomerate down there.” Two HART Hubs open in Ottawa The provincial government says it is investing in building 29 HART Hubs across the province. There are currently two in operation in Ottawa, one downtown on Eccles Street and another in Bells Corners on Robertson Road. “Instead of giving people tools to use harmful, illegal drugs, our government is helping people break the tragic cycle of drug addiction by making record investments in more mental health and wrap-around supports,” said Lily Barnes, a spokesperson for the Ontario Minister of Health, in an emailed statement. “Hubs provide people facing mental health challenges with 24/7 support to connect them with treatment and recovery options, while giving them support to break the cycle of addiction. The Hubs in Ottawa offer services including primary care, mental health services, supportive housing, and transition beds, among others.” The government adds HART Hubs also add supportive housing units, in addition to recovery and treatment beds.
