BURST
A tense vote is expected at New Westminster City Council on Monday, as councillors consider whether to renew a temporary permit for an overdose prevention site in the city’s downtown core.
The proposed 18-month renewal has sparked debate among residents and business owners. While some support the site’s harm-reduction services, others argue it has contributed to rising levels of street disorder, theft and safety concerns in the area.
The Starship Health Contact Centre at 40 Begbie St., operated by the Purpose Society in collaboration with Fraser Health, opened in April 2021 after council approved the original permit in March that year. The centre offers services including witnessed drug consumption, harm-reduction supplies, referrals to health and addiction treatment programs, and drug testing.
Nelson Santos, who owns Lisa’s Bridal just around the corner, says shoplifting at the boutique has noticeably increased since the site opened.
“There was always a little bit of street disorder with the Union Gospel Mission down the street, but it was managed,” Santos told Postmedia on Friday. “Since the safe injection site opened, there’s definitely been an escalation.”
“Things like cellphones have been swiped off the top of store counters, and our staff report having uncomfortable encounters with (drug users) while commuting to and from work,” Santos said.
Alongside an increase in shoplifting, Santos said her employees routinely clear drug paraphernalia, including needles, from the front of their storefront before opening.
“I see the value in the site,” the business owner said. “But clustering these sorts of services together in a two-block radius has made it hard for local businesses. We often have people camped out in front of the store. It’s starting to feel like this area is the next Downtown Eastside.”
Other residents and business owners have written to the city expressing concerns about safety, cleanliness and the impact on foot traffic in the area. But not everyone agrees that the site is to blame.
“We haven’t had a lot of negative effects from it,” said Katey Wright, co-owner of Origins Chocolate Bar, which is a 400-metre walk from the overdose prevention site.
“What we have seen is people using inhalants occasionally outside our store, and once or twice someone has camped overnight in an alcove near our front doors.”
Wright told Postmedia on Friday that she hopes to see the site’s permit renewed, saying that “humans in the grips of homelessness and addiction are way more important than the success of local businesses.”
“I think there’s a way that we can all help look after each other,” the business owner added.
Under the current temporary permit, the site operates daily from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., staffed by a coordinator and four workers. A municipal “Good Neighbour Agreement” requires on-site security and measures to minimize disruptions, including litter and criminal activity, to nearby residents and businesses.
Lynda Fletcher-Gordon, head of the non-profit that runs the centre, says Fraser Health data shows that each month, an average of three overdoses are reversed inside the facility, and another five are reversed outside.
“We understand the discomfort and the worry about what it does to the neighbourhood. However, the answer is not to move them around, pushing them from place to place,” she wrote in a letter to New Westminster city council.
Council reviewed the permit renewal last month, with the mayor and most councillors backing amendments to allow the site to continue operating. Two councillors opposed the move.
“The site has saved hundreds of lives and referred thousands of people to treatment they need, including detox and other health care services,” said Mayor Patrick Johnstone.
Johnstone voiced his support for the overdose prevention site Friday, saying that homelessness downtown existed before the centre opened.
“People who consume drugs want to be near the centre because they know there is help if they overdose,” he explained. “This has created some external concerns and challenges for the community, but it’s a life-saving service.”
The mayor said the city is actively working with Fraser Health to add an inhalation site to the Health Centre, noting that Monday’s permit renewal is an interim step while a permanent location is secured.
He cautioned against misconceptions about drug use near the centre, saying, “If you don’t want to see people smoking drugs out in public, then an indoor health contact centre is the place for them. It’s about helping people move past their addiction when they are ready.”
Noting that the Health Contact Centre is the only overdose prevention site between Maple Ridge and Vancouver, Johnstone is advocating for broader provincial investments to expand addiction treatment, housing, and social supports across the Metro Vancouver region.
“Simply put, the cure for homelessness is homes, and the cure for untreated mental health and addictions is health care. We cannot turn away any services during crises like these,” he said.
The debate over where to locate overdose prevention sites has flared up in other Metro Vancouver cities. In Richmond, following widespread community backlash, Vancouver Coastal Health announced last February that it would not open a supervised consumption site in the city.