City-funded overdose prevention teams losing funding next week

With Edmonton cutting funding for an overdose prevention program next week, the city councillor representing Edmonton’s downtown says the province needs to step up and fund healthcare.

“There can be gray areas about what a municipal responsibility is, what a provincial responsibility is. Healthcare falls squarely within the provincial jurisdiction,” said Anne Stevenson, councillor of Ward O-day’min.

It was earlier this year the city was celebrating the community-based outreach project that paired nurses and outreach workers to prevent overdoses on Edmonton’s streets.

Councillor Stevenson says the city made the choice to extend the program’s funding for one year hoping it would attract the federal government to come on board with funding but to date have not, and with the city funding drying up next week, Stevenson is disappointment other levels of government didn’t step up to fund healthcare.

“The opioid response team is also there to help alleviate pressure on other Edmontonians and businesses on residents, who end up becoming defacto healthcare workers. They’re not equipped to do that and I don’t think that should be on their shoulders.”

A petition online from climate justice edmonton is circulating to help save the program. Former harm-reduction worker and sociology researcher Rylan Kafara says the success of prevention programs is built on relationships made in the community.

“The workers are in places where the community feels comfortable and safe and can connect with the workers and get things like wound care, or naloxone kits – or sharp objects can be disposed of,” said Kafara.

The petition calls for the city to continue funding, when it comes to saving lives. Kafara says jurisdiction shouldn’t matter.

“It’s time for us to stop passing the buck and for us to be responsible for taking care of each other in our city and do what it takes to be there for each other because no one else is going to do it for us,” said Kafara.

For their part, Alberta’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions said in a statement that their investment in treatment as well as the provincial navigation centre for vulnerable Edmontonians.

“Since 2019, we have added more than 2,800 publicly-funded addiction treatment spaces in edmonton and will be adding to that as we build a new recovery community in the city.”