Dear editor,
As someone who recently lost a brother to the disease of addiction due to overdose after recovery, I must respond to the letter from Mary-Ellen (Reader appalled that government supports safe injection sites, Aug. 24) that argues against safe injection sites in the Comox Valley.
The Overdose Prevention Centre on Sixth Street is a necessary response to the current opioid overdose crisis. It is not just a “safe and comfy place for drug addicts.” Overdose Prevention Services are locations where trained staff monitor and provide rapid intervention if necessary. It’s a place that saves people from death. This centre is not creating an unsafe environment in our community – it is actually helping to make our community safer.
They are beneficial for the community and residents for numerous reasons.
Firstly, they help prevent people from transmitting infectious diseases.
Secondly, they encourage marginalized people to access health care services.
Thirdly, they bring stability to the community by reducing the number of injections taking place on the street.
To argue against having an accessible place where people battling this crippling disease can be rescued from overdose is incredibly harmful. This perpetuates the idea that people who are addicted to drugs are not worth caring about or saving. The reality is that these people need the most compassion, support, and help we can offer. This June, there were 111 suspected overdose deaths in BC which is 3.7 deaths per day. This is a 61 per cent increase over the number of deaths in June 2016. Of these deaths, none were at supervised consumption or drug overdose prevention sites.
Therefore, I argue that instead of advocating for less overdose prevention sites in our community, we advocate for more sites with longer hours to save the lives of the children, parents, siblings, spouses, and loved ones who are struggling with addiction and desperately need our help.
Megan Hedican
Courtenay
