The Peterborough Examiner e-edition

Tackling city’s addiction problem

Person banned from shelters died in drug poisoning in library washroom, police chief tells town hall

JOELLE KOVACH joelle.kovach@peterboroughdaily.com

A person recently died in a washroom of the Peterborough Public Library of a drug poisoning, according to Peterborough Police Chief Scott Gilbert.

Gilbert was speaking at a virtual town hall meeting on Tuesday night examining addiction, mental health problems and homelessness in a downtown that strives to flourish postpandemic.

He said someone died in the library earlier this year, and also spoke of another person having died while using drugs in the police station lobby washroom late in 2020.

“It was someone who was actually banned from the shelters,” Gilbert said, regarding the latter death.

“The police station was a place for people to come to in heat and cold emergencies. We haven’t turned anybody away.”

The Zoom call was attended by about 45 people, including Mayor Diane Therrien and seven city councillors, Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith, police, business officials, representatives of social agencies and concerned citizens.

Coun. Stephen Wright, the city’s vice-chair of economic development, said the idea was to listen to concerns and see what ideas he can bring back to city council.

He heard from Downtown Business Improvement Area executive director Terry Guiel that the city could consider hiring someone on contract to coordinate the services from different social agencies.

“The bottom line is I need help … I need help from everyone here,” said Guiel, who described the pandemic recovery — in addition to a mental health crisis, addiction and homelessness — as “the biggest challenge we’ve ever had” as a city.

Deputy Police Chief Tim Farquharson said police are called regularly to deal with people openly injecting drugs downtown.

Yet Gilbert said 83 per cent of deaths from drug poisonings in Peterborough happen to people at home — not on the streets.

He said it would help to have residential treatment for addiction and mental health problems in Peterborough.

Meanwhile there’s an application awaiting approval for funding from the provincial government to offer supervised drug consumption and treatment downtown in the former Greyhound station.

Smith didn’t say on Tuesday whether to expect an announcement on that soon.

The addiction treatment agency Fourcast is the lead applicant for the supervised drug consumption and treatment services.

While she wasn’t at the town hall meeting on Tuesday, Fourcast executive director Donna Rogers said in an interview Wednesday that theirs is currently the only application now before the Ontario government that has received Health Canada approval to allow the use of illicit drugs.

“Not only are we at the front of the line for funding – we’re the only ones in line,” she said.

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2021-07-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-07-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

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