By Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

Health Canada issues ARCHES exemption to open Lethbridge’s new safe consumption site

Feb 27, 2018 | 2:28 PM

LETHBRIDGE –  ARCHES has been given its exemption from Health Canada, and the new safe consumption site is set to open sometime Wednesday (Feb. 28). It will be the first and only facility of its kind in north America, offering specialized inhalation rooms for addicts, along with counselling services, health care, cultural services, a kitchen, showers, washrooms, laundry and other amenities.

Executive Director Stacey Bourque says they can’t open fast enough, considering recent information from emergency services that carfentanil could now be making its way around the city, and the number of drug overdoses is skyrocketing.

“So, I mean this last weekend you know there was 42 [overdoses] as you know. There was 10 more last night (Monday). We need to have this facility open so that we can assist in the response and reduce some of the pressure on EMS and police and emergency departments. You know, hopefully make sure that nobody dies.”

She says at this point everyone is excited to have the facility finally open, but they’re also exhausted.

“We really want to focus on you know, showing people it’s going to do what we said it’s going to do; support drug users, but also assist with some of the issues in the community.”

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Over the next 24 hours, ARCHES employees will be working with the city to complete any last-minute details before they get the go ahead to open their doors.

“The engineers have to go in and check and make sure our ventilation systems and our electrical and everything is done. The city goes in and makes sure everything is built to code and that we’ve got… any issues that they’ve indicated that they had that have been completed, or deficiencies that they wanted done get done, and then everyone’s gotta sign off on a piece of paper that says that the building’s safe, and then we can move in.”

Bourque says she and her staff, which include nurses, are prepared to administer additional naloxone to addicts and users, and to call EMS if it doesn’t work. She says people are calling Chinook Hospital to see where they can go and use in a safe place, because they’re afraid of what’s out there right now.

“We’ve got teams ready. The police are ready. The shelter’s ready. Everyone’s ready to start… hopefully they will come.”

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