The executive director of Brentwood Recovery Home believes the opening of a Consumption and Treatment Site in Windsor can't come soon enough.
Elizabeth Dulmage says it's critically important to have a site where people can go, where there are professionals to support individuals in a safe environment.
"To have a site where they can go, where there are professionals and peers who have recovered from the disease their to support them in a safe environment is critically important," says Dulmage.
She made the comments Thursday morning after an opioid alert was issued for the region on Wednesday.
"Those alerts come sometimes almost every week it seems, sometimes twice a week and we're experiencing it first hand," says Dulmage.
The health unit said there were 14 hospital emergency department visits between April 4 and April 10 and also reported three consecutive days of suspected opioid overdose calls to EMS last Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
"There's no doubt in our community that we are having alerts all the time and we have clients at Brentwood who access a poison drug supply and it is heartbreaking," says Dulmage.
She adds Brentwood will encourage its clients to attend the site.
"We always encourage them to practice the program to come back obviously that's our first strategy but we recognize that this disease is not the disease of 40 years ago," says Dulmage. "If you go out and use what has become a poison drug supply you could die."
SafePoint is located on Wyandotte St. E. at Goyeau St. and still needs approval from Health Canada and the Ministry of Health before it can open.
The health unit stated on March 23 that an inspection of the building took place and went very well.
Provincial funding is also needed for the site.
If provincial funding is not secured by July 2023, Windsor will be required to pay $34,000 each month until approval comes through.