Winnipeg's mobile overdose prevention site to stay open in winter months

A mobile overdose prevention site in Winnipeg will be able to continue operating through the winter months.

The Mobile Overdose Prevention Site is run and operated by Sunshine House. The drop-in centre runs out of a converted van and is parked in the lot next to 631 Main Street, just north of Logan Avenue, five days a week.

“Really just providing a safe space for people to use is really critical as we're dealing with the magnitude of loss that we've been seeing in our communities,” said Levi Foy, the executive director of Sunshine House.

He said the service allows people to use substances slowly and safely, have their drugs tested, and connect with housing and addiction services and support to help them. Staff who are trained in overdose response are on site and supervise the space.

“When people are forced to use in washrooms or in alleys and rush and are unsafe in shelters, or whatever it might be, that's when we really increase risks for folks,” Foy said.

Sunshine House said from October 2022 – when the site first opened – to November 2023, the Mobile Overdose Prevention Site had more than 25,000 visits, and supervised more than 7,600 instances of drug use.

However, the future of the program was uncertain heading into the winter months.

“We were in a pretty dire situation in August, September looking at kind of ways that we have to restructure the program to avoid closure,” Foy said.

With the help of Main Street Project and the Manitoba Harm Reduction Network, Foy said the site was able to secure enough funding to stay open until the end of March 2024.

The funding includes $72,728 from the Health Canada Substance Use and Addictions Program, about $250,000 from the Winnipeg Foundation, and around $55,000 in grassroots fundraising.

Davey Cole, the site’s coordinator, said it is essential to have the site open during the winter.

“The risks and harms that people face when using substances outdoors are multiplied when the weather gets cold,” he said in a news release.