September 15, 2017 - 10:34 AM
VANCOUVER - Another overdose prevention site has opened in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside in an effort to relieve pressure on two nearby sites that have had 120,000 visits since last December.
The Molson site, named after the former Molson Bank Building where it's located, will be the seventh overdose prevention facility in the few blocks that make up the impoverished neighbourhood.
B.C. Addictions Minister Judy Darcy says in a news release there is a great need for each of the sites, which record a total of about 700 visits every day.
Dr. Patricia Daly, Vancouver's chief medical health officer, says many of the services are being led by peers, people who have real-life experience with substance use.
Daly says those peers can help drug users feel more comfortable and encourage them to access other health services.
B.C.'s coroners' service says 876 people died of illicit drug overdoses in the province in the period ending July 31 and many of those died in private residences while using drugs alone.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2017