Mobile overdose prevention RV hitting the road with Manitoba government as funder for 1st time

Manitoba's only mobile overdose prevention site is bringing the provincial government on board as a financialpartner for the first time.

The provinceis providing $589,000 infunding to Sunshine House, which operates the overdose prevention RV, to entirely cover itsoperations for the remainder of the fiscal year, Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith said inquestion period Monday.

The arrangement is only for a year, as Sunshine Houseexecutive director Levi Foysaid he anticipates the RV's role in the community will shiftonce a dedicated supervised consumption site opensin Winnipeg in 2025.

For now, Foysaid he's thrilled Sunshine House won't have to scramble any longer to find moneyfor its overdose prevention vehicle. Theprogram's funding was expiring this month, he said.

"It's reassuring for starters, becausewe were getting pretty close to one of our doomsday scenariosof having to shut down or having to look at a volunteer-led service," Foy said, "but thedialogue has been really great actually with theprovince, so we knew it was coming."

Since the converted RV hit the road in October2022, it has offereda safe place for people to use substances wherethey can also be supervised by stafftrained in overdose response.

Harm reduction measure

The site also distributes harm reduction supplies, including clean needles and pipes, and tests drugs using a machine that analyzes chemical makeup.

In its first year of operation, street drugs were consumed more than 7,000 times in and around the RV, there were 20 overdoses and no deaths, according to a report Sunshine House commissioned.

The drop-in and resource centre has often dealtwith financial uncertainty.

Late last year, Sunshine House secured $250,000from the Winnipeg Foundation, about $72,728 from an amendment to its existing funding agreement with Health Canada, as well as about $55,000 in grassroots funding, in order to operatethrough the winter.

Foy said the NDP government, elected last October,assured Sunshine House it would come through with funding after that.

He said his staff won't have to dedicate a "large portion of their time" trying to drum up funding any longer for the RV.

The former PC government opposed the consumption of drugs at an overdose prevention site. Sunshine House required a federation exemption under theControlled Drugs and Substances Actto get its harm reduction vehicle up and running.

Foy still envisions a place on the road for the RV once the supervised consumption site is ready, which the province said will be locatedin the area of north Main Street.

"We're really hopeful that with a dedicated supervised consumption site, it willstill allow us to provide services elsewhere in the city and then really help communities and neighbourhoods determine what their needs are going to be in the future around supervised consumption services."

Some possible locations include the inner city, or any other neighbourhoods with ahigh population of lower-income people.

"Those are some ideas that we've built into ourfuture forecasting."