Over the long weekend, 260 Winnipeggers were served at a pop-up overdose prevention site, according to the Manitoba Harm Reduction Network (MHRN).
The event, which ran from Sept. 4-6, helped community members take part in a supervised consumption area and pick up harm reduction supplies like naloxone, syringes and condoms, under the watchful eye of nurses and outreach workers.
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“We gave naloxone kits to 131 people over the weekend, and 80 per cent of those said that they had previously administered naloxone,” said Jonny Mexico, Winnipeg Network Coordinator for the MHRN.
“This demonstrates that overdose prevention interventions are very needed.”
Mexico said the pop-up was in response to “alarming rates” of overdoses in a province forecasted to see over 400 overdose deaths this year.
Organizers of the event are hoping initiatives like this can lead to permanent, funded overdose prevention measures like safe supplies and legal, safe consumption sites.
