Ahead of Monday night's presentation at Windsor City Council, the health unit confirms what many suspected was true; that the opioid crisis worsened during the pandemic.
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit will ask for a letter of support from the city for its planned safe consumption site on Goyeau Street near Wyandotte Street East. It needs the letter to finish its application to the Ministry of Health and Health Canada, and the issue has been deferred twice at council.
Meanwhile, statistics from the health unit paint a stark picture of the toll opioid addiction is taking on the community.
Sixty-four people lost their lives to overdose in 2020, and public health officials suspect the death rate will be about the same as last year. It only has figures up to the end of July 2021 showing the deaths of 33 people in 2021.
There were 358 visits to emergency departments related to the use of opioids in 2020 and 416 last year, the highest number since the health unit started tracking those numbers in 2007. Over 86 per cent of overdoses involved fentanyl, and three-quarters of drugs used were not prescribed.
Most deaths were accidental and occurred in private homes.
All the statistics reflect the greater trend across Ontario.
Public health officials stress the painstaking process taken so far, including the numerous consultations with stakeholders and the public.
Most feedback was positive, but there are those in the community who still consider addiction a criminal rather than a medical issue.
"People are using substances throughout the community. We have to accept that reality," said Acting Medical Officer of Health Doctor Shanker Nesathurai. "I understand why people are reluctant to affirmatively support the location of the safe consumption site, but I think that the key thing is that supporting one is part of the obligation of citizens to be compassionate towards others."
He stated it is "well settled in medicine that addiction is a medical issue," and no one would oppose the construction of a hospital near their home.
CEO Nicole Dupuis said once the application is submitted to the province and federal government, the health unit will have to wait for approvals. She's still hopeful the site will open by the end of the year.
"We want this to move as quickly as possible," she said.
