Timmins supervised consumption site evades closure – until March 31st | CBC News

The Timmins and District Hospital (TADH) has extended funding for the local supervised consumption site.

Municipal funding for Safe Health Site Timmins was set to run out on December 31st, but the recent announcement from the hospital will allow the location to stay open for three more months.

“In order to ensure the continued availability of the vital, life-saving services provided by the Safe Health Site Timmins (SHST), the Timmins and District Hospital has agreed to temporarily extend operations until March 31st, 2024, utilizing as many operational services from other agencies as possible,” a spokesperson wrote in an email to Radio-Canada.

SHST has received an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to allow consumption of drugs at its location, however permanent funding and status is up to the province, which paused all applications in October.

Sudbury’s supervised consumption site, called The Spot, also received a federal exemption, but its future is similarly uncertain.

The sites in Timmins and Sudbury had previously operated on municipal funds, which was deemed unsustainable by both city councils.

Sudbury’s Vale Base Metals donated $75,000 to The Spot, run by Réseau ACCESS Network, to keep it open until the end of January.

“These services cannot close,” said longtime advocate and founding member of The Spot, Karla Ghartey.

“So in any way shape or form that communities can keep it open, even if it’s just a month at a time which is, again, not ideal and is just a Band-Aid solution, at least it will stay open while we continue to fight.”

According to the Ontario coroner’s office, Sudbury and Timmins rank third and fourth, respectively, for the highest rates of fatal opioid overdose in the province.