A troubling trend in the New Glasgow, N.S., area has seen calls to police increase 31 per cent in the past five years. Many of these are related to housing insecurity, untreated mental illnesses and substance use disorders. “When I go back to the call drivers, carving out those specific types of occurrences that are associated with the visible presence of homelessness, it’s mental health, addictions, open area drug use. The majority of those calls are coming in from the public, very high call volume,” says Ryan Leil, New Glasgow police Chief. Police call the situation dire, advocating with levels of government and the town and sharing the data they have been collecting. They have also partnered with Health Canada. They are one of over 60 municipalities in the country that are participating in the national wastewater surveillance program, able to send wastewater samples to Health Canada monthly. “What it found is that there is a wide variety of controlled substances that are in our water. In March, we saw 21 distinct substances that were identified,” says Leil. “The highest percentage of substances that are in the water are stimulants and the second highest are opioids, and that really aligns with what we are seeing. “We’re seeing a lot of overdose poisoning and overdose with opioids, and we are seeing that the opioids have a co-occurring substance with them, so mixed with opioids stimulants, sedatives, and tranquilizers.” New Glasgow police say if someone is walking on the street with an open container of alcohol, that’s an offence under the Liquor Act and they can be arrested and charged. But there is nothing comparable when it comes to someone using illegal drugs on the streets. “Back in 2020, the federal prosecution services stopped prosecuting simple possession charges unless there were aggravating circumstances, so essentially taking away a fair bit of authority from police,” adds Leil. Police introduced a crisis intervention team five years ago, and with the help of a Health Canada grant, have hired a mental health clinician who helps build relationships in the community and provides options to individuals in a mental health crisis. “The hope is that I will be able to have a mobile response when it’s appropriate and it’s safe,” says Carly MacCuspic, New Glasgow police community crisis outreach worker. “I am a civilian member, and I don’t carry any safety measures with me. Once a scene is secured, I will be able to present and provide a risk assessment, building relationships with people in a very trauma and person-centered way.” This is a role New Glasgow police say was needed and is important for the community. “Thirty per cent of people who are experiencing a mental health crisis seek treatment for the first time through police. If we know this stat to be true, that people are coming in contact with police because of a mental health crisis instead of a criminal offence, I think this is a natural fit,” says MacCuspic. The local Viola’s Place shelter in the community says they are doing what they can to help with limited resources. They say more help is needed. “We feel the increased issues the community is seeing are the result of the increasing need in rural communities and the lack of attention on the root causes of these systemic issues. Additionally, a combination of our stricter requirements, reduced daytime support hours, fencing, controlled property access, and security measures has created additional barriers for the unhoused community,” says Lisa DeYoung, Viola’s Place executive director. Viola’s Place’s outreach team continues to provide support daily to those residing in encampments and they offer harm reduction supplies, transportation, housing support and system navigation. “When attention and energy are focused on the perceived shortcomings of a charity, the root causes of homelessness, addiction, mental illness, and poverty remain unaddressed. The reality is that when people are unable to access shelter services or spend less time connected to supports, the challenges associated with these issues become more visible in the community,” says DeYoung. Community members like Brett Gray are concerned about what he is seeing in the community, and the safety for his kids. “Drugs, people with mental health issues, I had my kids out in my yard the other day and I have my kids out in my yard and there was a man with his pants by his ankles, I had to bring my kids back inside,” says Gray, a New Glasgow resident. He has lived in the area since 2018 and says the issues around homelessness and mental health and addiction have only gotten worse. He says he wants to see these individuals get the help they need. “Small communities don’t need to take it anymore, I think we need the government to understand and see what’s going on is a problem and it needs to be fixed,” says Gray. New Glasgow police are encouraging the public to report any information of individuals using substances in public areas, as it allows them to keep an eye on this as public safety is a concern for them as well. “As well with that behavior we are seeing irresponsible disposal of needles in the area at various locations so it’s important for us to have that information so we can connect with other service providers to say hey these are the symptoms and the concerns associated with that behaviour and what can we do to ensure we are providing opportunity for folks to dispose of needles safely to make sure they are not ending up on a sidewalk,” says Leil. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
