Island Health has selected 941 Pandora Avenue and 2920 Bridge Street as potential locations for publicly-accessible supervised drug consumption in Victoria.
The downtown area and Rock Bay were identified as high-priority locations by the health authority.
The new Central Care Home will also provide consumption service, but only to residents.
“Our community has experienced a rapid increase in overdose deaths associated with the current opioid crisis, and these services are urgently needed in Victoria and within the rest of Island Health’s service area,” said Dr. Richard Stanwick, Island Health’s Chief Medical Health Officer.
A distributed, multi-site model, which is being proposed for the capital region, would provide a number of services including public health assistance, mental health and substance use supports and referrals, engagement and connection with other social and health services.
“We are confident the service model being put forward will support individuals who use drugs while at the same time reduce the impact of public drug use in our community,” said Victoria mayor, Lisa Helps.
Island Health is now asking for feedback before submitting an application to Health Canada.
Two public meetings will be held on:
- Nov. 22: Burnside-Gorge/Rock Bay (Centennial United Church from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
- Nov. 23: Downtown Victoria (City Hall from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
Details about each proposed location are available at www.viha.ca/scs.
