Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) applauded Richmond council for calling for more overdose prevention services in the city, but said it will not move forward with a standalone supervised consumption in the city.
On Tuesday night, Richmond city council voted 7-2 to explore a supervised drug consumption site after two nights of heated discussion, with around 100 residents voicing their support and opposition to the motion proposed by Couns. Kash Heed and Laura Gillanders.
However, VCH said in a statement on Wednesday that it “will not be moving forward with a stand-alone supervised consumption site.” The health authority will, instead, work with the city to look at other ways to strengthen overdose prevention services in the city.
“Based on the latest public health data, a stand-alone supervised consumption site is not the most appropriate service for those at risk of overdose in Richmond,” said the statement.
“Stand-alone sites work best in communities where there is a significant concentration of people at-risk, since people will not travel far for these services.”
There are more than 1,000 people with opioid-use disorder in Richmond, including 600 with stimulant-use disorder.
Since the province declared a public health emergency in 2016, 172 Richmond residents have lost their lives, according to public health data.
In 2023, 26 people died in Richmond of suspected drug poisonings or overdoses.
VCH said Richmond has a "comparatively low rate" of drug toxicity deaths - in fact, the city has the lowest rate of drug toxicity deaths in B.C. - and the numbers have stabilized and are slowly coming down.
“However, each death represents a profound loss of a young life, and unimaginable grief for family and friends,” noted the statement.
Premier David Eby also responded to Richmond’s consideration for a safe consumption site citing VCH’s comments in an interview on Tuesday.
“I had a conversation through staff with Vancouver Coastal Health. My understanding is that they are trying to get a better handle on why Richmond is bringing forward this proposal at this time, whether what’s proposed actually meets the needs in Richmond,” said Eby.
“Because from their perspective, this is not what is immediately needed in that city.”
Exploring overdose prevention services in Richmond
VCH said the health authority is encouraged that Richmond city council recognizes the severity of the toxic drug crisis and is exploring ways to keep people safe in the city.
“The unregulated drug toxicity crisis has had an enormous impact on Richmond residents, families and service providers,” said Dr. Meena Dawar, Richmond-based medical health officer, in a letter to the Richmond mayor and council on Feb. 5.
“We can and should continue to do more to keep people safe as they navigate their illness and treatment journey.”
She said this includes taking a collaborative approach to address stigma, support peers, enhance services for unhoused residents and improve harm reduction programs including overdose prevention services.
“An increasing number of deaths are now occurring among people inhaling drugs; therefore, overdose prevention services need to incorporate both supervised injection and inhalation services.”
Got an opinion on this story or any others in Richmond? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected].
