More funding needed to support Ottawa's overdose prevention strategy: report

Yahoo

13-04-2025

Ottawa's top doctor is asking the city's health board to petition the province for long-term overdose prevention funding as toxic drug death numbers continue to surpass pre-pandemic levels.
According to a report by Ottawa Public Health, 207 opioid-related deaths were reported in 2023, a nearly three-fold increase from 2019 (65). The highest number of deaths occurred in the first quarter of 2023, with the most deaths occurring in the ByWard Market, Lowertown East, Wateridge Village and West Centretown neighbourhoods.
This is the highest number of opioid-related deaths among Ottawa residents in recent years, OPH said.
OPH also said there were at least 123 opioid-related deaths between January and September 2024, comparable to the number of deaths in the same period of 2022 but lower than 2023. Data for Q4 2024 is not yet available.
The majority of opioid-related deaths were deemed accidental, and many were people aged 25 to 44 years old. The majority of those were also unemployed, with numbers reaching 54 per cent in 2023.
'There continues to be an urgent need for additional supports to more effectively address the ongoing toxic drug supply and the interconnections between a lack of safe, supportive and affordable housing, poverty, trauma, and additional harms that people can experience from substance use,' wrote Dr. Trevor Arnason, Ottawa's interim medical officer of health.
But Arnason said the closure of one of four supervised consumption sites in Ottawa has left people who need access to lifesaving services with little to no options, exacerbating existing disparities and placing additional pressures on other sites and surrounding neighbourhoods.
Last August, the Somerset West Community Health Centre's supervised consumption site was forced to shut down after the Ontario government banned the sites within 200 metres of schools and childcare centres. The move blindsided CTS officials in Ottawa, who warned it would lead to more overdose deaths.
Around 19 per cent of people who died from accidental opioid overdoses were experiencing homelessness at the time they died, according to OPH data.
The 2024 Point In Time survey found that 49 per cent of respondents stated a dire need for supportive housing services, 46 per cent needed food security resources and 33 per cent needed mental health resources.
'When asked about health challenges in the 2024 survey, 42 per cent of respondents stated they had a mental health issue and 37 per cent stated they had a substance use issue, with 57 per cent stating they had one or more health condition(s),' the OPH's report read.
Arnason said a community-driven approach will continue to be a priority in 2025, which includes initiatives to expand overdose prevention initiatives, enhance outreach efforts and improve access to treatment and safer spaces for drug users.
This also includes efforts to advance stigma reduction efforts, strengthen data and surveillance, and improve patient experience in acute care settings.
'The priority areas reflect the need to increase and co-ordinate outreach efforts to truly meet people where they are at, providing a wide range of immediate lifesaving services including overdose prevention and response as well as providing basic necessities and connections into spaces that offer wrap-around services,' he wrote in the report.
Arnason also noted that while the two Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment hubs announced for Ottawa is a 'positive step forward,' gaps still persist in wraparound services for drug users.
The HART hubs will not provide key harm reduction services such as supervised consumption services or needle exchange programs, which he said are key to reducing deaths and blood-borne illnesses among drug users.
'A sustainable, multisectoral, and multi-governmental response is needed to implement long-term, well-funded solutions across all seven pillars of the Overdose Prevention & Response Strategy.
'Central to this is the urgent need for safe, affordable, and supportive housing. In the immediate term, expanding coordinated outreach services that connect people to safer spaces and wraparound supports—including treatment that is available when and where people need it—has been highlighted as a priority,' the report read.
But the report also note that sustainable long-term funding is crucial to combat the toxic drug crisis and expand efforts. Community-based services and social service providers need appropriate and sustainable funding to develop 'innovative solutions,' he said. This includes effective data collection, which is needed to drive effective decisions.
Sustainable funding is also key to employ and retain health and social service workers who are already struggling with ongoing workforce challenges.
'Without adequate funding, organizations struggle to offer competitive wages, provide necessary training, and equip staff with the tools they need—leading to burnout, low morale, and the loss of skilled professionals,' Arnason wrote.
Ottawa's interim medical officer of health is also asking for increased sustainable funding for services and resources for Indigenous, Inuit and Métis communities. This includes developing a new Indigenous Family Healing Lodge, supporting the Inuit Violence Against Women Shelter and supporting the Aging Out initiative, which helps Indigenous youth aging out of the foster care system/.
'This recommendation comes directly from First Nations, Inuit and Metis leaders,' Arnason said.
Arnason's report will be discussed in the Ottawa Board of Health meeting on Monday, April 14.
With files from Elizabeth Payne, Postmedia.
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