'There’s nowhere to go': Saskatoon addiction service cuts hurt the most vulnerable

Last week Prairie Harm Reduction began closing at 4 p.m. instead of 10 p.m., losing six hours of operation, and leaving staff worried for the city’s most vulnerable.

“There is a lot of worry and concern when we close the doors at 4 p.m. The people around the building aren’t super happy because there’s nowhere to go,” Kayla DeMong, executive director of Prairie Harm Reduction said.

DeMong said the safe consumption site and the drop-in centre offer the only washroom in the area.

Mary Jane Couillonneur uses the centre and believes it should be open 24/7.

“People don’t OD just to time frame, from open till close, no, people OD after hours,” Couillonneur said.

Demong worries that the reduction in hours may increase the number of overdoses and encampments in the city. Something that’s already on the rise, according to first responders.

“Just by Narcan administrations we went from 119 to over 700 just in the last year, and that’s not including fire and police who have Narcan kits who are going to calls,” said Troy Davies, director of public affairs with Medavie Health Services West.

Pamela Goulden-Mcleod, director of emergency management with the City of Saskatoon, said the Saskatoon Fire Department is monitoring encampments and providing supports where it can.

“Since May 1 we’ve had 43 reports of encampments in Saskatoon, which is up 50 per cent from last year at this time,” she said.

Mayor Charlie Clark told CTV News the reduction of hours for Prairie Harm Reduction and other services has created gaps in supports.

“We have a gap of resources in our community right now, and we will be having discussions in city council about what options there are to fill that so that we don’t see an escalation,” he said.

Clark said a community effort and help from the province is needed to address these concerns.

Meanwhile, DeMong said about $400,000 is needed to go back to regular hours. She continues to call on the provincial government for funding.

CTV News reached out to the province for comment but did not receive a response by the deadline.

The province has previously said that it does not fund safe consumption sites because it wants to focus on treatment instead.

Demong said while she supports treatment, there needs to be a “spectrum of services”.

“It’s really hard to refer someone into treatment when they’re being released into homelessness, and when they’re panicked every day about where they’re going to sleep, how are they going to survive, treatment isn’t even on the top 10 list of priorities,” she said.