Manitoba’s first official mobile overdose prevention site (MOPS) has earned more than $375,000 to operate during the winter months.
The site, hosted through Sunshine House, is a place where other people can “come and use ingredients in an area supervised by people trained in overdose response. “Advocates say that in the midst of a toxic drug crisis, a MOPS is necessary, especially in the winter.
Levi Foy, executive director of the Sunshine house, said winter is the worst time of the year. Davey Cole, MOPS co-ordinator, added that “the risks and harms that people face when using substances outdoors are multiplied when the weather gets cold.”
But the problem isn’t just winter.
“Winter is people’s intellectual health,” said Megan Tate, vice president of the Winnipeg Foundation network, but so are homelessness, food security and the pandemic about intellectual health.
Kate Kehler, executive director of the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, said that “when life is too difficult to deal with, (people) will seek whatever self-medication they can.” She said while alcohol is still overused and leads to more deaths than drug use, “we’re seeing more immediate deaths based on the toxic drug crisis.”
Kehler added that this is why MOPS must be in place.
“We have a toxic drug crisis, and we’ve had it too long, and we’re losing people in it.”
Tate said MOPS “provides important information to network members who may be suffering from addiction. “This is the center of the site.
“Everything is important,” he said.
In a press release, Sunshine House said that between October 2022 and November 2023, more than 25,000 site visits were conducted, 7,600 drug uses were monitored, and 391 drug tests were conducted for contaminants.
Kehler said via MOPS, “We say that we enjoy you, that you are one of those who enjoy and that this time we want to take care of you. “
However, it’s not just about offering an area to use, Tate said.
“For those who are in a position, site staff will also provide referrals to others who may simply have access to housing, or for those who are in a position to take the next step in their journey: access to addiction treatment. “
She added that having a designated area for other people to safely use drugs is one way to ease pressures on “family resource centers, women’s resource centers, and homeless shelters” that are used as “unofficial places of admission. “
“That’s not their primary role in our community. They’re not paramedics, they’re not addictions counsellors. They’re here to serve the community in a different capacity,” Tate said.
Kehler said, “We hear all the time from network partners who want to stick with naloxone when they come in. “
“Often, even your most experienced workers are the ones who react. It’s really their reception that’s running out of concepts to prevent overdose or death from a poisonous drug,” he said.
A Sunshine House news story says $72,728 came from Health Canada’s Addiction and Use Program, about $55,000 from a grassroots fundraiser and $250,000 from the Winnipeg Foundation.
Sunshine House said these funds will keep the MOPS operating up to March 31 next year.