Residents in support of a site in Windsor where drug users can inject safely are calling on the City of Windsor to do more to help those who are vulnerable.
A fully-equipped tent stocked with supplies that are typically used at an overdose prevention site (OPS), was set up during the lunch hour Friday outside Windsor City Hall. It was part of a demonstration by the Windsor Overdose Prevention Society (WOPS) meant not only to educate people on the practice of safe injection, but also to call attention to what some people believe is a real need for such a facility in Windsor.
Over the past two weeks or so, Windsor police and Essex-Windsor EMS reported at least four deaths pertaining to drug overdoses, along with several other patients requiring immediate hospitalization for potential drug overdoses. The rally was part of a process to convince Windsor City Council and Windsor Police Chief Al Frederick to reconsider an OPS.
The tent was set up with several Windsor police officers standing nearby keeping a watch. Brandon Bailey of WOPS said the tent was for demonstration purposes only, and they were told by police that anyone trying to use the tent to inject drugs would be arrested along with any protestors.
Bailey said they had the tent set up in a neighbourhood on the edge of the downtown Windsor core previously.
"We were doing one for about a week outside Victoria Manor," said Bailey. "But because of it being in a neighbourhood, neighbours had complained and asked us to not put it there anymore, so now we're just doing it here [City Hall] for an hour."
Those attending the rally believed that lives would be saved if there was an OPS in Windsor and emergency responders were allowed to carry naloxone kits to help revive overdose patients. Speaker Derrick Biso, using a bullhorn at the rally, directly turned attention to the officers watching nearby.
"Be part of the solution, not part of the problem," said Biso. "I'm calling out to you as humans, fellow humans who have other humans they care about. Care about all of the humans, not just the ones in your circle. Talk to your supervisors, talk to each other about the importance of carrying naloxone kits."
According to literature handed out at the rally, an OPS is temporary and provides supplies and harm reduction services to prevent injury or drug overdoses, and is different from a safe injection site.
Complete information on the WOPS is available on their official Facebook page.
