Catholic school board, Barton Street neighbours oppose proposed Hamilton supervised drug use site

A plan for a second supervised drug use site in Hamilton faces resistance from neighbours on Barton Street East - including the Catholic school board - amid a deadly opioid crisis.

City council has endorsed the local AIDS Network's proposal for 746 Barton St. E., but residents and business operators who live nearby hope the province rejects the agency's application.

It's going to kill this community," Walter Furlan, who operates a small heritage restoration shop on Barton East near Lottridge Street, told The Spectator.

But the AIDS Network - which has about 20 letters of support from organizations - says Hamilton badly needs another consumption and treatment services (CTS) site to help prevent overdose deaths.

I think really the most important thing is we need to save more lives," executive director Tim McClemont said.

Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre has operated the city's sole CTS site downtown since 2018.

In 2020, there were 124 confirmed opioid-related deaths in Hamilton, according to preliminary data, marking a third straight year that fatalities surpassed 100.

The city has one of the worst overdose rates in Ontario, notes Dr. Tim O'Shea, who is with the Hamilton Social Medicine Response Team, a partner in the AIDS Network's proposed CTS. We have people dying on a daily and weekly basis."

Saving lives is paramount, but the CTS - which allows people to use drugs under the supervision of trained staff and offers other services - would also help alleviate pressure on overstretched emergency rooms, O'Shea added.

Furlan and a group of like-minded neighbours say they don't dispute there's a problem. But they worry a CTS will lead to more crime and discarded needles, driving away businesses and services.

If it comes in here, I wouldn't feel safe," said Lena Sutton, a retiree who lives nearby.

The proposed AIDS Network site is about 200 metres from St. Ann Catholic Elementary School, board chair Pat Daly said, noting children would have to walk by. We would be concerned about their potential health and safety."

Daly and others point to a 2020 Alberta government study of supervised consumption sites that found increases in crime, needle debris and overall social disorder" since they opened.

But O'Shea says evidence gathered from other CTS sites across Canada show they're not associated with spikes in crime.

I think we're asking people to trust the organization that they're going to run this in a way that's good for the neighbourhood."

McClemont says the focus of the centre's activity would be inside the centre, not outside.

Still, the plan is to have some of the roughly 12 staff stationed outside to keep an eye on things, he said. They would also collect any discarded needles in the neighbourhood.

Along with Keeping Six, a small harm-reduction group, the Hamilton Social Medicine Response Team will help deliver wraparound" services to support clients, O'Shea says.

It's going to be a place that I think people will be able to be proud of having in their community because it's going to be a place where people get looked after very well."

But the Barton East neighbours are also upset over what they say was a lack of consultation, including disclosing the site's address, ahead of last month's board of health approval.

We felt pretty blindsided," said Liz Duval, who lives with Furlan, her husband, above their shop.

The AIDS Network notes it has gathered feedback through postcards, in-person visits, a web survey and an online forum.

But the Afro-Canadian Caribbean Association Community Centre didn't receive a postcard, and digital platforms can leave people out, Evelyn Myrie said.

It would be nice to know. At least we have a say, and hear what they're proposing."

McClemont is sorry" residents feel they were left out of the loop, but noted the online survey is still open and the AIDS Network is committed to further consultation.

The agency didn't share the address of the proposed location until after municipal approval to avoid a lot of controversy or conflict" before the vote, he said.

The AIDS Network hasn't yet completed its application for provincial and federal approvals to launch the CTS. Funding for the initiative comes from the province.

Finding a landlord is a key step - and a proven stumbling block. The city, for instance, failed to line up a location for a public health-led CTS after considering roughly 30 options.

Coun. Nrinder Nann, who represents Ward 3, where the AIDS Network hopes to open its CTS early next year, couldn't be reached for comment.

During last month's board of health meeting, Nann called it totally disheartening and totally unacceptable" that landlords were unwilling partners in the city's effort.

Urban Core plans to temporarily relocate its CTS on Dec. 6. to St. Paul's Presbyterian Church on James Street South when it moves out of its longtime Rebecca Street location.

The health centre's plan to offer supervised drug use services at its future purpose-built space at 430 Cannon St. E. near Wentworth Street North by 2023 has also generated support and pushback alike.

The AIDS Network's services will form part of a critical" response to Hamilton's opioid crisis, said Urban Core executive director Nhlaloenhle Nala" Ndawana.

The health centre's CTS received 116 clients and 1,906 visits in October, during which there were 12 overdoses. The vast majority were handled on-site. There were no deaths.

Staff also connected visitors to other services: primary care, mental health, housing, food, employment and addiction treatment.

Opioid overdoses are most prevalent in wards 2 and 3, accounting for more than two-thirds of paramedic calls.

That directed the AIDS Network to the Barton Street East location, which is a fair distance from the future Urban Core site, McClemont said.

But Furlan says Ward 2, which draws paramedics to more opioid-related calls, should be the focus.

O'Shea agrees the downtown-area ward needs a CTS, but so do other parts of Hamilton.

Overdoses don't just happen downtown. Overdoses happen across the city."

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com