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RNAO President Dr. Claudette Holloway speaks to Sudbury media.
Sudbury supervised consumption site in need of support

Sudbury’s only sanctioned supervised consumption site (SCS) – formally called Minoogawbi, La Place, The Spot and informally known as The Spot – was forced to close its doors at the end of March. The city terminated its funding of the site at the end of December 2023, suggesting the province step in. The site continued to stay open through March thanks to donations. RNAO President Dr. Claudette Holloway was in Sudbury in January, sharing with local media that the SCS affects more than just the clients it serves. “When you fund this kind of treatment centre, it’s going to have an impact and reduce pressures on hospitals and emergency rooms,” she said (CTV News, Jan. 26). In the same CTV News story, RN and Sudbury and District chapter executive member Neil Stephen added that SCSs “see a reduction in local crime rates.” SafePoint, an SCS in Windsor, also closed on Jan. 1 and is seeking funding. However, the government has frozen approvals on SCS applications while it reviews safety protocols around the sites. This freeze is having a direct impact on those who rely on these services. “People who use these toxic substances recognize that they could die. (With these sites) they have access to not only safe supply, people who will witness in case they collapse but also have access to people who accept them for who they are – who help them try to get other services and give them medical care,” said RN and harm reduction advocate Kathy Moreland (AM 800, April 2). Join the more than 1,200 people who have already signed RNAO’s Action Alert to call on the premier to lift the freeze on SCS approvals.