Around 20 to 30 people gathered outside SafePoint in downtown Windsor on Thursday for a vigil to honour those lost to drug overdoses, and to continue to call on the province to fund and support supervised consumption services.
The Windsor CTS Advocacy Coalition organized the vigil as part of a provincial day of action where Windsor joined a number of other communities across the province like Sudbury, Timmins and Barrie.
Back in October, the provincial government announced it was pausing the approval of new sites due to an ongoing review which would be followed by a Critical Incident Review report.
A powerful moment Thursday saw those in attendance say the names of those they knew who had been lost to overdoses walk up and grab a rose in their honour and place in by SafePoint's doors.
Rielly McLaren, a local pastor and member of the CTS Advocacy Coalition, says it was about elevating the voices of people who don't have a voice.
"This isn't about me as much as it is about the people who need these services, and the grieving families. I'm meeting them, I do funerals for them, I support them in prayer and all the different ways that grief seems to hit us. And their voices matter. Their needs matter, their healthcare matters and their basic healthcare matters," he said.
McLaren says demonstrations like these are meant to remind the halls of power that there is a need in our community.
He says SafePoint offers a range of different services, including drug checking which can help avoid the consequences of the toxic drug supply wreaking havoc in the country.
"That's one service, there are counselling services, there are referral services to treatment. So I think it's important to recognize that this is holistic care that's focused and particular in a public health emergency. If we're willing to say it's a public health emergency, if the government is willing to say that, we need them to act like it's a public health emergency as well."
McLaren says since SafePoint closed its doors, there's a trust that's been broken that will need to be rebuilt in the future while people continue to struggle without resources.
"There are many that have come to the door not knowing that it has closed. There's relationship that's built up, where people start to trust the staff and they're able to get the help, support and healthcare that they need. Then all of a sudden it's closed, so that's broken trust with the community, re-opening will require rebuilding all of those relationships all over again," he said.
McLaren, and those in attendance Thursday, say they'll keep showing up and raising awareness for as long as it takes to get the province to notice and get SafePoint's doors back open.
SafePoint closed at the end of December after funding provided by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit ran out, and its future depends on a provincial review wrapping up at some point.