ISSUE
The WECHU, in partnership with representatives on the advisory committee and the Windsor-Essex Community Opioid & Substance Strategy, launched a site-specific community consultation on June 17th of 2021 to gather community feedback about two candidate locations for a local Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) facility. The purpose of the site-specific community consultation was to understand community perceptions about the feasibility and acceptability of a potential CTS facility at either of the candidate locations. The comprehensive community consultation plan encompassed several components for engaging the community:
- A widely promoted public survey with a total of 448 survey responses
- 13 key informant interviews with businesses and agency stakeholders within a defined radius from the sites
- 7 focus groups with area stakeholder groups
- 3 Virtual Town Hall meetings that allowed community members to ask questions and voice concerns to a panel of eight expert speakers. Fifty-three (53) community members registered to participate.
BACKGROUND
After an extensive search and consultation with local property owners, the WECHU with support of the CTS advisory committee, identified two candidate locations for a potential CTS facility in Windsor’s downtown core - 101 Wyandotte Street East and 628 Goyeau Street. Both of the candidate locations satisfied each of the mandatory and complementary requirements for an eligible site, and both are situated in the preferred neighbourhood (N9A) identified through the initial Safe Injection Services Community Consultations Report. Prior to facilitating the community consultation process, crime prevention through environmental design audits (CPTED) were completed by Windsor Police Services in order to determine the safety of the candidate locations, and to guide any mitigating interventions for improving the surrounding safety of the sites and discouraging criminal activity. Through the CPTED audits, it was determined that the placement and orientation of both site locations would lend themselves sufficiently to establishing a manageable “Safe Consumption Zone” whereby public safety can be maintained with any risks identified to be mitigated. The WECHU proposed the two candidate locations to the Board of Health on June 17th of 2021, and a resolution was passed in support of the completion of the site-specific community consultation as focused to the assessment of these two potential sites.
The results from the community consultation yielded local support for a potential CTS facility at both of the candidate locations. A majority of survey respondents indicated that they would provide at least some degree of support for a CTS facility at 101 Wyandotte Street East (67%) and/or 628 Goyeau Street (68%). Relatedly, respondents most frequently indicated that they would provide equal support for a CTS facility at both of the candidate locations (39%), while 19% preferred 628 Goyeau Street and 13% preferred 101 Wyandotte Street East. Nineteen percent (19%) of all survey respondents did not support or prefer either location. Survey respondents who identified as living, working, owning a business, or going to school in the N9A postal code area (N=126) responded with similar perceptions to the full sample, with 33% providing equal support for both locations, 22% preferring 628 Goyeau Street, and 13% preferring 101 Wyandotte Street East. Nineteen percent (19%) of respondents in the N9A postal code area did not support or prefer either location.
Majority of the key informant interview and focus group participants demonstrated openness or support to a CTS facility at one or both of the proposed locations, with few expressing strong opposition to either location. Although many of the participants noted minimal differences between the two locations, the primary differentiators in terms of perceived benefits and concerns were tied to the traffic flow surrounding the locations and the visibility of the sites. Many of the participants cited that 628 Goyeau Street is a less visible and lower traffic area compared to 101 Wyandotte Street East, with the perceived advantages of being a safer site option with less risks of pedestrian and vehicular-related injuries or traffic disruptions. Many participants also referenced that 628 Goyeau Street would provide improved privacy for potential service users, many of whom are socially stigmatized and may be deterred by a highly visible and higher traffic location, such as 101 Wyandotte Street East. In contrast, some of the participants highlighted that the visibility of 101 Wyandotte Street East would be particularly advantageous for enhancing observation capabilities and ensuring the safety and security of the surrounding areas. Overall, five of the seven focus groups reached a consensus of 628 Goyeau Street being the preferred or superior location, while 31% of key informants equally supported both locations, 31% preferred 628 Goyeau Street, and 23% preferred 101 Wyandotte Street East. Fifteen percent (15%) of key informants did not prefer either location.
The results collected through the consultation will be interpreted extensively by the WECHU and the CTS Stakeholder Advisory Committee to inform mitigating strategies to address the cited concerns.
PROPOSED MOTION
Whereas, Opioid overdose and opioid related mortality has been declared a public health crisis, and
Whereas, Opioid overdose and opioid related mortality is at an all time high in Windsor-Essex, and
Whereas, Consumption and Treatment Services have the potential to address opioid overdose and opioid related mortality, and
Whereas, the WECHU is required to submit an application for a CTS that includes a site location and an accompanying community consultation, and
Whereas, the CTS advisory committee has identified a preferred site based on the results of a comprehensive community engagement process led by the WECHU,
Whereas, a formal request to City Council is required in order to present the results of the evaluation and is necessary for an extended presentation time,
Now therefore be it resolved that the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health support the recommendation from the CTS Advisory Committee that the WECHU move forward with their application for the site located at 628 Goyeau Street, and
FURTHER THAT, the Board of Health support administration to continue with the next steps of the application process which includes seeking City of Windsor council approval for the proposed site, and
FURTHER THAT, administration enter into an agreement with the proposed landlord to secure the site for submission of an application.