The volunteers who have run an overdose prevention site out of a tent, and later a trailer, perched in Moss Park say they have received new funding and will move into a building by next month.
Volunteers with the Toronto Harm Reduction Alliance and the Overdose Prevention Society first set up a small beige tent in Moss Park last August, equipped with the overdose-reversing drug naloxone and access to nurses.
The site drew scrutiny from and at least one city councilor -- Giorgio Mammoliti, and police, who decided to let it stand. The volunteers have helped reverse more than 200 overdoses in the past nine months.
Now, the Ontario Ministry of Health has granted the groups that operate the site six months of funding to move into a nearby vacant building.
The federal government granted the site a formal exemption and South Riverdale Community Health Centre will assist volunteers with the move into a new space.
“We would like to thank the City of Toronto, the Mayor’s Office, Councillor (Joe) Cressy, and the Ministry of Health for their efforts in helping us secure a more permanent home and supporting and approving our application process,” Zoe Dodd of the Toronto Overdose Prevention Society said Friday.
The City of Toronto says 187 people died of opioid-related overdoses between May and October of 2017, roughly double the rate of the previous year.
Across Canada, more than 4,000 people died of opioid-related overdoses in 2017.
