The numbers show that a mobile OD prevention unit can save and change lives, says Sunshine House – Winnipeg Free Press

Manitoba's only overdose prevention site saw more than 26,000 visits in its first year of operation, new data shows.

There were only 20 overdoses and no deaths.

Sunshine House, an input and resource center, released the data Monday ahead of Thursday's release of a comprehensive 91-page report on findings from the organization's mobile overdose prevention site.

“This evaluation demonstrates the positive impact of MOPS and how a life-saving and life-changing peer-led controlled consumption space can be,” said Sunshine House Executive Director Levi Foy. “We look forward to sharing this story with the wider community.”

MOPS, driven by people with substance abuse backgrounds, are retrofitted RVs that travel to various locations around the city, allowing people to use their drugs under supervision. The site launched on October 28, 2022 amid a growing toxic drug crisis in the province and a lack of harm reduction measures such as brick-and-mortar controlled consumption sites.

The NDP government elected in October has committed to creating a controlled consumption area in downtown Winnipeg next year. This year they will be holding consultations on what services the site will offer and where it will be located.

Sunshine House is one of the groups lobbying the province to accept a proposal to designate an Aboriginal Health and Wellness Center to manage the controlled consumption site project. The Prime Minister and the Addictions Minister said they are looking into it.

Other data included in the MOPS release: Of the slightly more than 26,000 visits to the site, approximately 7,000 involved people using drugs; people also access the service for harm reduction or simply for a coffee. There were only four cases where someone had to be taken to hospital after being drugged at their request. Naloxone, which can reverse opioid overdoses, has been used 82 times.

Only 0.08 percent of all visits resulted in an overdose.

Preliminary figures released by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner show there were 445 drug-related deaths last year, down slightly from 467 in 2022 but up from 432 in 2021.

Meanwhile, a new study by researchers at the University of Toronto shows that opioid-related deaths are on the rise in Manitoba more than anywhere else.

The study, published Monday Canadian Medical Association MagazineLooked at accidental opioid-related deaths across Canada between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2021. It showed the steepest increase in overdose deaths for people between the ages of 30 and 39 in Manitoba – to 500 deaths per million people, more than five people. 89 deaths per million population recorded at the beginning of the study period.

“Until 2021, Manitoba had a low opioid-related death rate compared to the national average we were seeing, but when the pandemic hit, we saw a nearly five-fold increase,” said senior author Tara Gomez. Free press.

“We've seen a really rapid acceleration in opioid-related deaths in Manitoba.”

According to Gomez, the study found that one in 31 deaths in Canada during that period in people under the age of 85 was related to opioids. For people in their 20s and 30s, it was a third or a quarter, he said.

“It's a huge contributor to the deaths of Canadians,” Gomez said.

The Child and Youth Advocate of Manitoba is holding a press conference Tuesday about the advocate's concerns about youth addiction services in Manitoba. Details are not yet available.

— With Canadian Press files

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Katrina Clarke
Investigative reporter

Katrina Clark is an investigative reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press.

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