A Statement from Sherbourne Health Regarding the Closure of CTSs
The provincial government’s recent announcement to close 10 Consumption and Treatment Sites (CTSs) across Ontario by April 1, 2025 will put vulnerable individuals at greater risk of overdose and divert already-scarce resources from the healthcare system.
Sherbourne Health is a provider of integrated health services, community programs and capacity-building initiatives in Moss Park. This neighbourhood has among the highest rates of paramedic-attended overdoses in Toronto. Every day, we see the complex interplay of substance use, poverty, mental health challenges and barriers to health care play out in the real lives of real people who deserve support, compassion and care. Closing CTSs will hurt people who are already struggling, and we are deeply concerned about the impact on our clients, our neighbourhoods and our staff.
In our work, we weave a commitment to harm reduction throughout everything we do. We provide low-barrier health care and outreach designed to meet both the immediate and long-term needs of people who use drugs. While Sherbourne Health does not operate a supervised consumption site, we affirm the principles of harm reduction including self-determination and the right to access timely overdose response.
When designing programming and delivering services, we rely on evidence-based data. The facts speak for themselves, and repeatedly confirm that consumption and treatment sites, as well as harm reduction services more broadly, reduce transmission of infectious diseases, connect people with services, and most importantly, save lives. To date in Ontario, there have been 0 fatal overdoses in a supervised consumption site.
CTSs are community hubs that not only prevent overdose, but also connect people to services. Staff at Sherbourne Health routinely refer our clients to these services with the understanding that it may be the difference between life and death. We also perform outreach at these sites to ensure that the people using these services can connect to low-barrier health care and resources.
Although we have deep concerns about the decision to close CTSs, we support increasing treatment options and supportive housing initiatives– both are in dire need across Ontario. However, we know that for many people who use drugs, the safest and most successful road to broader stability also includes safe consumption options.
August 31 is recognized as Overdose Awareness Day. As we work to make sense of the decision to close a number of CTSs, and simultaneously mark Overdose Awareness Day, we want to extend our gratitude to our staff who work with such care for people who use drugs, our clients, who share their lived experience to help inform our program development and delivery, as well as our colleagues across the province who dedicate time and skills to keeping people safe.