Grande Prairie drug culture is shifting: Saint Lawrence Centre
With growing demand and increase in use, the Saint Lawrence Centre is hoping to lobby the provincial government for ongoing support for daytime homeless shelters with help from the City of Grande Prairie.
Project Lead with the centre Jared Gossen says there has recently been an unprecedented number of people showing up for their programming.
“The first year of opening we averaged just over 30 visits per day. As of our first day of winter operations (this year), we had 82 people come through the doors,” he says.
The centre considers winter operations as October 1 to the end of March where they offer a place to keep warm and activities. The first year of opening in 2015/2016 the program operated out of the Salvation Army Community Service building, the same year Gossen witnessed his first overdose. The program has since moved over to a space in the Rotary House. According to Gossen, in just over a year span, the centre has responded to 44 overdoses where Naloxone or Narcan has been administered.