Sandy Hill Community Health Centre reopens supervised consumption site after HVAC upgrades
It may not look different from the outside, but inside the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, the supervised consumption site has been upgraded.
"We have installed a brand new HVAC system," said Derrick St. John, the centre's consumption and treatment site interim director. "So we're having about six times the amount of air exchanges in the room."
The new ventilation system means they can once again open the doors for clients who can use drugs under supervision.
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
"It's an amazing feeling after being closed for four months," said St. John.
The site was forced to temporarily shut down after harmful fumes from drugs made several staff members ill. Somerset West Community Health Centre also experienced a similar issue.
"Yeah, some people had some pretty some bad nausea, some headaches and felt unwell," said St. John. "Hopefully that new HVAC will keep everyone safe and healthy."
The closure meant more people openly using drugs on the streets.
"What I'm hearing from the community is that the problems that were already prevalent in that area in the north end of Sandy Hill have just become more and more common. More public drug use, public drug trafficking and just social disorder," explained OPS acting Sgt. Paul Stam with the Neighbourhood Policing Directorate.
Sandy Hill resident Calla Barnett and her 12-year-old child Cindy used to live near Centre 454, the Ottawa Mission and the consumption site, but moved to the south end of Sandy Hill to get away from it all.
"I didn't want my child to have to walk to and from the bus to and from school," said Barnett who is the acting chair of resident association Action Sandy Hill. "Every day we're encountering people smoking or injecting drugs on the street."
It comes as the city grapples with an opioid epidemic, most visible in its downtown core.
"It just shows that we need a lot of help from the province and the feds," said Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stephanie Plante. "We're very good here in Ottawa providing that first step, connecting people with some basic frontline services but, you know, we need way, way more than that."
With the consumption site reopen, the hope is that it helps address some of the issues. But not all residents are as optimistic.
"Maybe it'll get better," said Barnett. "But the experience of us, of the people here, is that it doesn't get better when they open. It gets worse."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.7027051.1725573856!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Girl, 15, set on fire in assault at Saskatoon high school: police
A 15-year-old girl was set on fire in an assault at Saskatoon's Evan Hardy Collegiate Thursday afternoon, police say.
Liberal national campaign director says he will step down
Embattled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his governing Liberals have taken another hit with Jeremy Broadhurst quitting his job as national campaign director for the party.
Father of Georgia school shooting suspect arrested on charges including second-degree murder
The father of the teenager accused of opening fire at a Georgia high school, killing four people and wounding nine, was arrested on various charges including second-degree murder, authorities said Thursday.
Toronto couple pushes for change after dog attacked by pack of coyotes
It started like any other night for Mary and Doug Youngson: a walk at their neighbourhood park with their rescue dogs, Mai Tai and Kahlua. But when the couple looked around, they say a pack of eight coyotes surrounded them, picked Kahlua up and ran off with him.
A Canadian airline is changing its check-in deadline for all flights. Here's why
Travellers will have to check in 15 minutes earlier than usual according to Air Canada's new cutoff time for all flights.
Man dies after surgeon removed wrong organ at Florida hospital, lawyer says
The lawyer of a woman whose husband died at a Florida hospital says the surgeon removed the wrong organ.
Conservative cuts? Party to share platform 'closer to the next election,' Scheer says
Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer says Canadians will have to wait until 'closer' to the next federal election to learn about the party's platform.
Student convicted of killing classmate in Leduc gets life in prison without parole for 12 years
The man who fatally stabbed a classmate at his Leduc high school in 2021 was sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 12 years on Thursday.
Murder, aggravated assault charges laid in Vancouver stranger attacks
Charges of murder and aggravated assault in a pair of brutal stranger attacks in downtown Vancouver were approved Thursday, one day after the rush-hour rampage left one man dead and another with a severed hand.