Island Health is seeking service providers for Vancouver Island's first-ever supervised consumption site slated to open in Victoria next year.
The health authority has issued two separate requests for proposals for harm reduction workers and people with lived experiences to staff and operate the site.
As for what the positions entail, harm reduction workers will check users in to consumption sites, oversee their substance use and respond to potential overdoses, according to Island Health.
Persons with lived experience will provide support and offer peer counselling, helping refer drug users connect with health, social and other services.
“Island Health has found that peers with lived experience play a vital role within our interdisciplinary teams in hospitals and at Overdose Prevention Sites by supporting patients and clients who are seeking programs, services and treatment,” Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Richard Stanwick said in a statement.
The site will also hire a registered nurse to provide primary care, including testing for blood-borne diseases and handling treatment of any related illnesses.
Other positions will include a social program officer and on-site clinician.
The supervised consumption site is expected to open at 941 Pandora Street in late spring 2018. Island Health says renovations are currently underway to create a space with ten booths where people can use illicit drugs safely and be monitored for potential overdoses afterward.
The building currently houses existing mental health and substance use services, which will be reconfigured to accommodate the new consumption site.
The RFP deadline is Jan. 19, 2018 and bids can be viewed on BC Bid's website.
