Other agencies have applied but been turned down by the province
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is taking the lead when it comes to a Consumption and Treatment Service, or safe injection site, application to the provincial government.
A website has been created by a leadership committee which consists of 28 community agencies — all working together to address key substance use issues in the community.
The AIDS Committee of Windsor and Windsor-Essex Community Health Centre applied for a safe use site last year and were turned down.
Medical Officer of Health Wajid Ahmed says it's still a team effort but when it comes to the application, the health unit has the best chance of getting it approved.
"AIDS Committee of Windsor and Windsor-Essex Community Health Centre, they were the lead agencies who submitted that application. We have their support," he says. "We have other community partners at the table as well and we hope that when we get to that point we'll be having extensive consultation not only with our community partners, but also with the community to get their feedback."
Doctor Ahmed says the Doug Ford government has made it clear that an approved site has to offer more than just a safe place to use drugs.
"A site where they can start to get treatment and connection with community health agencies to help get rid of their addiction. If they need harm reduction services or rehabilitation services. All those services can be linked together," he says.
Ahmed points out that there's a lot of information to gather before an application moves forward, and the health unit is up to the challenge.
"There's a lot of work before we get to the stage of submitting an application for funding. The intention from the government is to make sure that we have a comprehensive plan and we have all the answers before we can set up consumption and treatment services," he says.
Health unit board member Rino Bortolin raised concerns over the timeline, with Windsor-Essex ranking seventh in the province when it comes to opioid use.
Ahmed agreed there's a crisis, but the best way to get a site approved is to make sure the government gets all the information it needs to say yes, which could take several months.