Sunshine House secures funds to keep mobile safe-drug facility on road

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This article was published 12/12/2023 (961 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AFTER a rocky year, Sunshine House’s mobile overdose prevention site finally has a smooth road ahead.

Over the summer, the organization sounded the alarm after learning federal funding for the site, an RV inside which people can use illicit drugs under the supervision of trained staff, would run out at the end of October. It needed to raise $275,000 to keep the mobile overdose prevention site (MOPS) running.

At the same time, staff were bracing for a possible full shutdown if Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives — widely regarded as hostile toward such harm-reduction initiatives — won another term in government. Now, however, MOPS is in better shape than ever.

Levi Foy, executive director of Sunshine House, announced this week the organization has secured enough funding to keep the program running, and even expand its operating hours.

The bulk of the new funds, $250,000, came from the Winnipeg Foundation, a charity that provides grants to community groups in need. Roughly $73,000 is coming from the federal government as an amendment to an existing agreement with Health Canada and the Substance Use and Addictions Program. About $55,000 came from community fundraising initiatives such as bake sales and drag shows.

Foy credits Main Street Project and the Manitoba Harm Reduction Network with advocating on the program’s behalf to secure funds from the Winnipeg Foundation, and groups such as Moms Stop the Harm and Indigenous support agency Ka Ni Kanichihk for offering support throughout.

“Even though things looked really grim and really dark, all of these people continued to really fight for us,” Foy said.

Megan Tate, vice-president of community impact with the Winnipeg Foundation, said her organization was eager to step in when they learned MOPS needed help.

“Really, what it boils down to, is their work saves lives,” Tate said.

Ben Carr, MP for Winnipeg South Centre, was also instrumental in advocating for the program, Foy said.

Carr told the Free Press the federal contribution was a “direct response” to a “desperate situation.”

The federal funding was previously set to run out due to a miscommunication on the time frame for spending limits. Sunshine House planned to apply for new funds but feared a gap in cash flow would mean services might need to be scaled back.

Since MOPS began operating just over a year ago, the service has recorded almost 28,000 visits, which, in addition to drug-use supervision, includes accessing such things as clean needles or drug testing or just grabbing a cup of coffee. Staff have supervised nearly 10,000 instances of drug use and reversed 25 overdoses, which they call “drug poisonings” since users often don’t know what’s in their supply. In only four cases, the person went to hospital — voluntarily — after an overdose. There have been no deaths.

Like much of Canada, Manitoba is facing a toxic drug crisis. People buying unregulated street drugs can never be sure what they’re getting. Last year, at least 418 people in this province died of an overdose. Preliminary numbers for 2023 indicate 243 Manitobans died from an overdose between January and July.

Foy said the election of the NDP government in October came as a relief. While the previous Tory administration was “hostile” toward harm-reduction initiatives, Foy said, discussions are now underway for a permanent supervised consumption site in Winnipeg — something Sunshine House always hoped would emerge following the success of MOPS.

Foy said Sunshine House doesn’t plan to run the permanent site — where substance users will be able to test and consume drugs without fear of being arrested — but he hopes it will be overseen by an Indigenous-led organization. MOPS will continue even when the bricks-and-mortar site is up and running.

Foy also no longer fears Bill 33, the Addiction Services Act, will force the mobile facility to shut down. The bill, introduced by the Progressive Conservatives earlier this year, would have clamped down on peer-run services such as MOPS and put up new hurdles for the organization to overcome.

Sunshine House was also able to secure an extension of its Health Canada exemption, allowing operations to continue until next October.

MOPS currently operates five days a week, Wednesday to Sunday, usually during the daytime. With the new funds, Foy expects the facility will be able to add an extra day of service and extend hours into the evening, travelling around the city to community hot spots, as needed.

katrina.clarke@freepress.mb.ca

Katrina Clarke
Investigative reporter

Katrina Clarke is an investigative reporter at the Winnipeg Free Press. Katrina holds a bachelor’s degree in politics from Queen’s University and a master’s degree in journalism from Western University. She has worked at newspapers across Canada, including the National Post and the Toronto Star. She joined the Free Press in 2022. Read more about Katrina.

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