Onsite: Insite’s detox floor

Onsite is an addition to Insite where the injection users can turn to should they ever decide to quit using. It is located on the second floor of the same building, and consists of 12 detoxification rooms (each with its own bathroom). The facility also includes a common room and kitchen, and is staffed with nurses, doctors, and counsellors for their various services. Onsite incorporates a methadone program and enforces standard rules; like any other detox facility, drug use is prohibited and can result in withdrawal from the program.

I feel that the addiction of Onsite to Insite reinforces the goals of this organization. As I have stated in one of my previous posts (CBC’s Fifth Estate: “Staying Alive”), the point of Insite is not to encourage or increase drug use, but to ensure that the drug users are safe and directed away from crime and disease. Those who are looking for a way out can finally be a step closer to it-or in this case, a flight of stairs closer. In addition, up another flight of stairs is a temporary shelter which houses 18 rooms, for those who need a night away from the madness on the streets, or have nowhere else to go. When I discovered this, I questioned whether many drug users overstay their welcome at Onsite; however, I quickly answered my own question when I re-evaluated the power of addiction. I feel that many users probably do not stay long; instead they are probably already looking for the next fix first thing in the morning.

I am not sure whether these resources are adequate for the number of users out there; 12 detox beds and 18 temporary shelter beds seem like a small number, but you have to start somewhere. If all of those detox rooms are filled, there is potential that there are 12 less users on the street, and therefore potential of getting 12 users off the streets and off the drugs (though this may be unlikely because of relapse, one cannot help but think of the best case senario.) Even if half of those users stayed clean, it is a start. If you don’t offer anything at all, then nothing is done (sounds redundant, but true). And sometimes the power of suggestion goes a long way.