Public Statement:
​Dear Community,
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In light of the Ministry of Health’s decision to cease funding for Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) within 200 meters of a school or licensed child care centre, we regret to inform you that our CTS falls within this proximity and we will lose this funding by March 31, 2025. We continue to have discussions with the Ministry of Health to understand our process for ending this service and will provide regular updates as we learn more information. Until then, all our harm reduction services remain available.
Recognizing our community’s urgent need, the province selected our centre in 2017 to operate a Consumption and Treatment Service. At the time, our area had the second highest rates of drug overdose deaths and bloodborne infections, including HIV and Hep C, in Ottawa. Somerset West Community Health Centre responded and we proudly partnered with our community to respond.
Over the years, our CTS has built and nurtured the trusting relationships necessary for our neighbors to access care in a welcoming, non-judgmental environment. Just this past year, we served 542 individuals who made over 8,303 visits to our center. Our dedicated staff, who show up to work each day with a strong vocation to save lives, reversed 487 overdoses in 2023. They also facilitated more than 7,140 referrals to essential services such as primary care, housing, mental health case management, and addiction counseling among other services. We have been a lifeline for family members, friends, neighbors, and loved ones struggling with substance use.
We knew through the evidence that Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities are disproportionately affected by mental health and addictions due to systemic racism, discrimination, and barriers to accessing health services. As a center rooted in the principles of anti-racism and anti-oppression, we have intentionally built a diverse team that includes staff from these communities, many who have lived experience with mental health and substance use challenges. This approach ensures that our clients face fewer barriers to care.
We fully agree with the Government of Ontario that more needs to be done to address the challenges of substance use and addictions. However, the solution can not include a return to the stigmatization of substance use, the criminalization of illness, or the withdrawal of life-saving support.
Data clearly shows that any effective response to our community’s crises must include a full spectrum of services, from harm reduction to withdrawal management, treatment, and counseling. This announcement comes during a toxic drug supply crisis when our services are more critical than ever. We are gravely concerned that reducing life-saving interventions in favour of a shift solely toward addiction and recovery options will lead to more deaths in the months and years ahead.
This decision threatens to place even greater burdens on hospital emergency departments, paramedics, police, and our neighborhoods. We invite the Ministry of Health to engage with communities, health experts, organizations like ours, and people with lived experience of substance use challenges. We believe that together, we can develop a more comprehensive model that truly serves those in need.
At Somerset West Community Health Centre, we are committed to the health and well-being of our community, which includes people who use substances. We will seek every opportunity to work with the provincial government and urge them to include aspects of harm reduction services in the newly proposed Treatment Hubs. We will continue to provide updates as we navigate this transition and remain dedicated to supporting members of our community along the way.
Suzanne Obiorah
Executive Director,
Somerset West Community Health Centre
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