Prairie Harm Reduction’s executive director says the doors are now open and traffic is slow but steady at Saskatchewan’s first ever safe consumption site, located on 20th Street East.
Executive Director Jason Mercredi says they were hoping to have a full contingency of staff and to be open 24 hours a day, but when provincial funding fell through, they began fundraising for a paramedic position.
Now they are able to provide services from 10 am to 4 pm weekdays.
He explains that having a safe consumption site provides a space for clients to use drugs under the guidance of a medical professional and then connects the person with services afterwards, to try to move them towards recovery and to keep them alive.
Mercredi says this is something that police, fire, EMS, and health experts have said is needed, and notes that Saskatoon is experiencing its worst ever year for overdosing, and, “the need for a service like this is not going away any time soon.”