BACKGROUND
Overview
- SafePoint officially opened on Wednesday, April 26th, 2023, serving clients 7 days per week between the hours of 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. daily.
- In order to ensure transparency related to SafePoint operations, the Board of Health will be provided with regular updates.
Application Status
- The WECHU’s application to operate SafePoint under a Supervised Consumption Services (SCS) exemption was approved by Health Canada on July 21st, 2023.
- The SCS exemption was shared with the Ministry of Health immediately following approval and in doing so, the Ministry confirmed that there are no outstanding elements in the WECHU’s application to operate a fully funded Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) site at SafePoint.
- As it stands, the Ministry of Health application for CTS funding remains under review.
CURRENT INITIATIVES
Operational Data
It has been four months since SafePoint opened on April 26th, 2023. From opening to August 31st, there have been 418 client visits amongst 119 unique clients, with no overdoses reported on-site to date. Additional details about the services provided at SafePoint during the month of August are presented in Tables 1-3.
|
Total Unique Clients: 26 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Demographic |
Number of Unique Clients |
|
|
Age |
Under 25 |
4 |
|
|
25-64 |
19 |
| 65+ | 2 | |
|
|
Unknown |
1 |
|
Gender |
Man |
20 |
|
|
Woman |
6 |
|
Race |
White |
22 |
|
|
Indigenous |
2 |
|
|
Latin American/Hispanic |
1 |
|
|
Black, African, or Caribbean |
1 |
|
Total Number of Client Visits: 130 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Indicator |
Number of Visits |
|
|
Visit by Time of Day |
10:00 – 11:59 a.m. |
27 |
|
|
+12:00 – 2:59 p.m. |
50 |
|
|
3:00 – 6:00 p.m. |
53 |
|
Type of Visit |
Consumption |
65 |
| Other | 65 | |
|
Consumption Visits Reported |
methamphetamine |
|
|
|
Dilaudid |
1 |
|
Consumption Visits by Method of Consumption |
Injection |
65 |
| Intranasal | - | |
| Oral | - | |
|
Total Number of Client Visits: 130 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Indicator |
Number of Times Service Offered |
||
|
Drug Checking |
On-site fentanyl drug checking |
1 |
|
|
Basic Care |
First aid |
22 |
|
| Wound/abscess | 26 | ||
| Foot care | 4 | ||
|
Wraparound Services |
|
On-site |
Referral |
|
|
Addictions treatment |
- |
2 |
|
|
Mental health |
1 |
3 |
|
|
Primary care |
18 |
16 |
| Social services | 57 | 3 | |
Client Experience Narrative
Beyond the number of client visits recorded in the month of August, SafePoint continues to demonstrate that the services being offered are having a positive impact on clients, as highlighted through the following client experience narrative:
Anonymous Client #1
SafePoint staff connected with the Wellness Program for Extended Psychosis with the Transitional Stability Centre (TSC) on behalf of a SafePoint client. Staff walked with the client to the TSC so that they could be administered their medication that was overdue.
FUTURE PLANS
SafePoint has continued to expand the wraparound services available on-site. The Mobile Medical Support (MMS) Team and their Dental Hygienist will be on-site of SafePoint on Friday, September 8th, 2023 to provide clients with dental services. SafePoint has also developed a procedure with Family Services Windsor-Essex to dispatch Homelessness Outreach Workers to SafePoint as needed.
SafePoint is preparing to launch its business engagement strategy as part of the site’s ongoing commitment to community engagement. The business engagement strategy will involve regular outreach and resource distribution to the area businesses to learn about and address their concerns about the site.