A safe consumption site will be opening at the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre. Supervised consumption services are meant to reduce harm from substance use while offering additional services such as counselling, social work, and opioid dependency treatment.
The decision to open a site at Sheldon Chumir was made at the Federal and Provincial level without any prior discussion or consultation with local stakeholders. It was, however, supported by the mayor, the ward councilor and the local community association.
Alberta Health Services has stated that there will be opportunities for residents and business owners to get involved in the planning and integration of the supervised consumption services throughout July. Attendees will be able to learn about supervised consumption services, share questions and perspectives, and give feedback at scheduled sessions. These conversation sessions will have limited seating, and so it’s suggested to register in advance to ensure your seat. Additional sessions will be scheduled, should interest exceed the existing number of seats.
If you would like to register for one of these sessions, please contact Alberta Health Services at 1-877-275-8830 or scs.calgary@ahs.ca. For more information on safe consumption sites and supervised consumption services visit www.stopODs.ca.
If you have more questions about safe consumption sites, please contact Ben at planning@calgarycommunities.com. The Federation will also provide updates as we receive more information about safe consumption sites in Calgary.