In a drug toxicity and overdose crisis that claims the lives of almost 6,000 Canadians annually, harm reduction initiatives are critically important in keeping people who use drugs safe, connected, and alive.
Over the past several years, in response to the devastating impacts that the toxic drug crisis has had on individuals, families, and communities, we saw an expansion of harm reduction initiatives province-wide. Unfortunately, many of these publicly accessible services and programs, including supervised consumption sites and services, have been forced to halt under new provincial government legislation.
Substance use reaches every corner of society; opioid-related overdose can impact any person, family, or community at any time, with historically marginalized populations including Indigenous, Black, and racialized women and gender diverse individuals often seeing disproportionate effects and unique challenges in accessing appropriate healthcare or treatment. While the benefits of harm reduction services may feel invisible, the loss of these services will be, and are, deeply visible.
At its core, harm reduction is an approach aimed to reduce harms associated with something that can involve risk. More than that, harm reduction is love, compassion, and community. It prioritizes autonomy, education, and dignity, and is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves safety, regardless of individual choices or circumstances.
It is also important to recognize that harm reduction is not only a concept related to substance use, but also embodied through programs, policies, clinical frameworks, and service delivery across society. School crossing-guards, seatbelts, designated drivers and nicotine patches – all are tools that reduce harm and save lives yet carry much less stigma. The practice of supervised consumption as a form of harm reduction is not new – bars, restaurants, events, and retail locations reduce potential harm by providing a supervised space for alcohol consumption. As privatized spaces, they are subject to public policy and licensing standards. Consider the Smart Serve program which provides harm reduction training for all staff including bartenders, managers, licensees, and security personnel to ensure that they promote and maintain a safe and healthy environment where alcohol is consumed.
The opening of Toronto’s first Supervised Consumption Sites (SCS) in 2017 was an acknowledgement that Ontario is experiencing an overdose crisis, and that there is a need to address it.
Supervised Consumption Sites provide people who use drugs with a safe space to receive harm reduction services, staffed by professionals trained in preventing and responding to opioid overdose. They offer a controlled, monitored environment for people to use drugs, with the goal of reducing their risk of fatal overdose. And they work. Not only did sites across Ontario respond to dozens of overdoses monthly, but they also expanded to provide other critical services including non-judgmental social and health services and referral programming, housing connections, peer support, treatment support, and importantly—community.
Right now, Ontario is de-funding publicly funded Supervised Consumption Sites across the province, quietly closing the doors to a total of 17 sites that, between 2020 and 2024, recorded 1.12 million visits and successfully reversed over 22,000 overdoses. The price of these closures will be paid in many ways, but most importantly, in lives lost.
Substance use, harm reduction, and Supervised Consumption Sites are widely misunderstood, misrepresented, and as a result, initiatives are underfunded, or defunded altogether. Knowledge is power, and understanding how harm reduction saves lives is a powerful act of community solidarity. Over the next several weeks we will explore the essential role that Supervised Consumption Sites play in harm-reduction, safety, and recovery, while also examining the gendered impact of these site closures and debunking myths. Over the coming weeks, we will map out this crisis:
Part 2: De-Mystifying Substance Use & Understanding the Gendered Impacts of the Crisis
Summary: Consider the gendered impacts of the opioid epidemic and drug toxicity crisis, and why harm reduction initiatives and Supervised Consumption Sites are a direct form of activism to combat the disproportionate impact on communities that face systemic barriers to care.
Part 3: Supervised Consumption Sites from a Feminist Perspective
Summary: Who is impacted by the closure of Supervised Consumption Sites and stigma towards substance use, and why. Discussing the relationship between gender-based violence and substance use, and the importance of harm reduction services for women and gender diverse folks.
Part 4: Harm Reduction – A Labour of Love
Summary: Explore harm reduction in practice and in principle – why do Supervised Consumption Sites exist, and who do they help. How communities that have faced historic and continued marginalization have come together to build systems that offer safety for each other, and for others.
Part 5: Missing Piece – The Public
Summary: Discussing the public benefits of Supervised Consumption Sites and other harm reduction initiatives, and the impact of loss of these services. What’s next, and what can you do to support your fellow Torontonians.