Residents and business owners raise concerns over safer supply clinic in Hintonburg

Community activist Cheryl Parrott says businesses have seen a sharp decline along Wellington Street West in Hintonburg since Northwood Recovery opened its doors in September.

"All of them have had issues with the clinic," said Parrott. "They've had a lot of theft, they've had people in their business using drugs, smoking drugs. They've got litter all over the place. No one is feeling safe."

Parrott is the security committee chair of the Hintonburg Community Association and is going door to door to rally the community in attempt pressure the privately owned clinic to put protocols into place for its patients to follow.

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"We need some rules around this kind of treatment. it can't be unregulated the way it is right now," said Parrott, "We know it can be done right and well, and they are not."

Kitchissippi Ward Coun. Jeff Leiper has noted an increase in residents reporting that the prescribed medications for patients at Northwood Recovery are not being used for their intended purpose.

"What we understand to be happening is that patients are receiving prescriptions for hydromorphone, which is essentially a fentanyl replacement, but they're selling those pills in the immediate vicinity of the recovery center," Leiper told CTV News Ottawa.

He also said that he doesn't know what protocols are in place at Northwood Recovery, or if they are implementing the best practices for their patients.

These activities have community members on edge. Both Parrott and Leiper cite a significant rise in violent crimes, including a robbery involving a firearm.

"The reality is this is essentially an unregulated space. (Northwood Recovery) don't require any permission to operate," said Leiper, who pointed out that safer supply can work in a much better fashion, and it has in other recovery clinics across the city.

Ottawa Inner City Health is one of the collective organizations in Safer Supply Ottawa providing prescribed alternatives and social supports. The organization's CEO, Rob Boyd said, "The primary thing that we want to see happening within safer supply programs is those types of supports that are meeting people's other needs beyond their dependence on the drugs."

Boyd said Safer Supply Ottawa has reached out to Northwood Recovery to share its policies and the lessons it has learned in the safe consumption space but has not received any response. Boyd added that addiction centres working with Safer Supply Ottawa protocols help deliver programs with a more positive effect.

"If we're wanting to support programs like ours (at Ottawa Inner City Health) to do what we need to do, but also deter this type of a setup from happening (at Northwood Recovery) there are ways that we can license it, that we can regulate it," said Boyd. "You can build these in a way that does meet the needs of everybody."

CTV News Ottawa reached out to Northwood Recovery, but did not hear back by the time this story was published.