The Alberta government is permanently closing #yeg's @boylestreet supervised consumption service (SCS) at a time when more people than ever are dying of overdose. This closure will result in a 35% drop in #yeg's current SCS capacity (booths). #ableg edmontonjournal.com/news/local-new…
For background, 3 small SCS were set up in central #yeg in 2018. Instead of opening 1 large SCS, the required capacity was spread across 3 health and social services (a primary clinic, overnight shelter, and a day drop-in) where people who use drugs were already going for help.
This plan was based on a comprehensive needs assessment that included an epidemiological study with 320 people who use drugs (which I conducted), a detailed business case, and large community consultation. More details here: crismprairies.ca/amsise/
Since 2018, the 3 SCS have reversed 1300+ overdose (OD) events, and @edmontonpolice say opening of the SCS coincided with a decrease in crime in the areas adjacent the sites. cbc.ca/news/canada/ed…
The closure of the @boylestreet SCS comes as Edmonton-Eastwood (central #yeg) has been dealing w/ a doubling in its OD death rate, which at the start of #COVID19AB, increased from 57.9 per 100k to a horrific *121 per 100k* . 
I don't have a 2021 OD death rate for Edmonton-Eastwood because Alberta Health quietly stopped publishing all neighbourhood or catchment-level overdose data last year 🤔. Nevertheless, to date, I haven't found a higher OD death rate in Canada (if you have, lmk).
Early 2021 data indicate that OD deaths remain extremely high in #yeg. In Jan and Feb, 73 people died of an OD (more than 1 per day, and a 157%+ in deaths y/y). We should be EXPANDING access to proven interventions like SCS in #yeg, not cutting their capacity or reach!
Minister Luan's staff have said that they could deploy the @BoyleStreet SCS to a new location in #yeg. While this is promising, in the interim, we are likely to see more OD deaths, more public drug use, and more improperly discarded injection supplies in central #yeg.
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