supervised consumption as part of its health care.“We see a supervised consumption service as a critical health care necessity,” said Casey House CEO, Joanne Simons.Casey House’s supervised consumption services are open to registered clients 24-hours a day for the inpatient unit and 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
for outpatients.“There is a tremendously toxic drug supply on the streets right now, and so to provide a safe space for people who use substances is really critical to their health and their care,” added Simons.
It’s too soon to support drug decriminalization: Alberta police chiefs “People are able to currently eat, snort or inject substances at these booths,” described Casey Schapel, harm reduction coordinator at Casey House, as he brought Global News on a tour of the new space.More than a third of Ontario overdose deaths in 2020 were attributed to inhaling substances, so Casey House also built one booth for inhalation and the team is working towards offering the service.“At least 50 percent of our clients would prefer to use the inhalation site as opposed to injecting drugs.
Right now, there’s legislation actually preventing us from opening up the inhalation site. Smoke Free Ontario doesn’t allow smoking, certainly within hospitals, within public spaces,” she explained.Casey House created an environment where the smoke is immediately evacuated out of the building.