A local organization helping community members experiencing homelessness and addiction doesn’t expect the summertime closure of Calgary’s safe consumption site to have an unmanageable impact on its operations.

Last week, the provincial government announced that the supervised consumption site (SCS) located at Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre will be ordered to close on June 30.

The closure comes in waves after the same has been done at other facilities across the province, leaving the Grande Prairie location as the lone standing SCS by July. Decisions to do so followed the provincial government’s pursuit of the Alberta Recovery Model, which prioritizes funding addiction treatment and detox centres over consumption sites. 

During the March 20 media availability, Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, Rick Wilson, said that Calgary’s SCS has contributed to the social disorder and rate of substance abuse in the downtown area, and that the government is making attempts to amend this. 

“We want to be able to work with the community, because it’s hurting businesses around the area as well,” he said. 

“The big thing is, these people need help, and I want to give them hope, because I’ve seen what happens when people can recover.”

Deputy Premier Mike Ellis said that the government has already made strides in helping people in Edmonton. In Calgary, he said that the province’s efforts, alongside those of local organizations, have supported upwards of 8,000 Calgarians on a path to recovery.

In the context of the availability of the shelter and detox programs offered by both the Alpha House and Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre Society (DI), Ellis said that he had been “told that beds are available most nights.”

The Alpha House did not respond to LWC’s request for comment, but the Drop-In Centre said in an email statement that although beds are usually available, its capacity is unpredictable and changes from night to night.

“The Calgary Drop-In Centre continues to operate at a very high level of demand,” read the email statement. 

“While there are generally beds available, that does not necessarily reflect overall system capacity or the complexity of the needs we are seeing.”

Support requires collaboration across sectors, says Drop-In CEO

President and CEO of the drop-in centre, Sandra Clarkson, said that the DI focuses on providing non-permanent shelter to people experiencing homelessness and connecting them with services that could help them secure housing.

Additionally, Clarkson said that the DI offers two programs as part of its Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care. The first offers up to 10 days of medically supported withdrawal from alcohol and other substances, while the second supports those transitioning to housing or an external addiction treatment facility. 

Both services are free to patrons and are available to anyone with a substance-based addiction. Clarkson said the programs are currently running at around 90 per cent capacity, but that since both its recovery services and housing supports are meant to be temporary, this isn’t a bad thing. 

“We see our programs and services really as a process, not a destination,” she said. 

“It’s not a place where you come and stay forever—it’s not housing, it’s not meant to be housing, and every program and service we offer is very intentional to lead towards a positive housing outcome.”

Clarkson said they aim to maintain a steady flow of patrons to ensure there is always room to support new people seeking help. Because of this, she said she does not expect the SCS’s closure to strain the drop-in centre’s capacity. 

“I’m not sure if we would anticipate increased volume, to be honest,” she said.

“The demand for those programs has been quite steady, so I don’t anticipate that changing.”

Ahead of the cessation of the SCS’s operations, Clarkson recommended that all levels of government should continue to work with local initiatives and the healthcare system to support those experiencing homelessness and addiction. 

“What we’re seeing is a failure of numerous systems, and the solution is going to require a coordinated response from health, recovery, and housing,” she said. 

“If those systems are not working together to solve issues around homelessness, all we’re going to do is simply continue to manage it.”

Clarkson said she has “seen higher levels of coordination” at the intersections of policy, health, and recovery today than in the past, and that because of this, she’s hopeful that more Albertans will be supported in the future.