A statement from the Homeless Coalition of Windsor-Essex and the 40-agencies it represents is asking Windsor Police Services to carry and use Naloxone.
The lifesaving drug counteracts the effects of an opioid overdose, which essentially renders the user unconscious and can prevent them from breathing properly or at all, making every minute count.
Chief Al Fredrick acknowledged drugs and drug overdoses are a dire issue across the city, but told a press conference WPS will not be carrying Naloxone despite changes in the Police Services Act that allow it.
"We need to urge strongly that Chief Fredrick, who we have a great deal of respect for, reconsider his stance," says HCWE Chair Ron Dunn.
He tells AM800 News, after four suspected overdose deaths in 24-hours, every possible treatment option should be used.
"If I'm choking, an officer is going to help me right? While we're generally quiet on issues that aren't directly related to homelessness, we feel strongly about this," says Dunn. "So that's why we put out the release to say to the Windsor Police Services Board and to Chief Fredrick, 'we need you, you're our first line of defense.'"
Dunn, who spoke to AM800 News at a silent vigil for those lost to drug overdose, says the coalition can't sit by while the death toll continues to rise.
"While we play politics and figure stuff out people are dying. The time to think about it and talk about it and worry about liabilities and 'slippery slopes,' that's gone," says Dunn. "We lost four people in a 24-hour period, two of those people were associated with mission ... people that we love and care about, it has to stop."
Dunn also says the coalition will continue to push for a government-run overdose-prevention site in Windsor-Essex. While he applauds efforts by the Windsor Overdose Prevention Society, he says the coalition will not support an unsanctioned-site that's not run by medical professionals.
The society is currently looking for a new location for its informational site after neighbours raised concerns about its proximity to a school, according to member Brandon Bailey.