‘Five years of weight off my shoulders:’ Saskatoon’s safe consumption site to open Oct. 1

Saskatoon now has an opening date for the province’s first safe consumption site.

Prairie Harm Reduction — rebranded from AIDS Saskatoon — announced on Tuesday that the consumption site will open in a limited capacity on Oct. 1.

The safe consumption site is designed to allow those addicted to illicit drugs to come in and use the drugs in a supervised environment with medical staff on standby. The centre would also help direct users towards social supports and addictions services to help break the cycle of addiction.

Hours will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday according to executive director Jason Mercredi.

“It’s not ideal. We’d like to be running 24/7, 365 (days a year). But at this point, we need to get something in place. The status quo just isn’t cutting it,” he told 650 CKOM Tuesday.

The organization had been hoping to secure $1.3 million in funding from the provincial government to support medical care staff who could help expand the hours of operation, but the funding was left out of the COVID-impacted budget.

Instead, the consumption site will open through community-based fundraising, including a new clothing line.

“We knew we needed to develop a revenue source for the consumption site since the government is not funding us for this year. But we need to open for this year, and so, we launched an online store at the same time,” Mercredi explained.

The clothing line is expected to raise $10,000 for the safe consumption site. Products will be delivered for free within the city, according to Mercredi.

“There’s bunnyhugs, there’s t-shirts, there’s touques and there’s cups. We have about six different designs,” he said. “We’re trying to be as diverse and reach as many people in the community as we can.”

You can browse the clothing line, with designs made by local tattoo artists, or make donations for the safe consumption site online here.

A separate nursing line will share proceeds with front-line workers, with 50 per cent of proceeds going to education for nursing initiatives.

“We want to make sure that we’re giving professional development opportunities to front-line health care professionals,” Mercredi said.

Mercredi said planning towards the Oct. 1 opening date began half-a-decade ago, and solidifying an opening date is a relief for him.

“(It’s) five years of weight off my shoulders, that’s for sure. It feels pretty good,” Mercredi said.

“It gives (those struggling) a bit of hope, and that’s what we’re after right now.”

He added the name change from AIDS Saskatoon to Prairie Harm Reduction has been in the works for a “number of years,” and it was voted in at its last annual general meeting.

Other fundraisers Prairie Harm Reduction will be announced in the fall, but it is planning the annual AIDS walk for the coming week.

50 per cent of proceeds will go to the safe consumption site, while the other half will head to OUTSaskatoon’s prep clinic.