STAY CONNECTED: Have the stories that matter most delivered every night to your email inbox. Subscribe to our daily local news wrap.

Grande Prairie to get first mobile consumption vehicle of its kind

Feb 14, 2019 | 12:42 PM

HIV North has been in Grande Prairie for over 30 years. The not-for-profit AIDS service organization is addressing the increasing overdose crisis head-on, with its new supervised consumption services project.

A new mobile consumption site is in the works for the Swan City. The project has been in development for two years now, with an operation date on the horizon as HIV North’s exemption with Health Canada is in its final stages.

“In 2017, Grande Prairie had the highest rates of overdose in Canada,” says Sarah Boxall, Coordinator for HIV North.

“It’s affected our community, it’s affected HIV North. We’ve had individuals brought to our agency who are in the middle of an overdose with staff who had to respond, so we’re hoping to offer this service to have a safe place for individuals to consume their substances.”

HIV North is Grande Prairie’s primary Harm Reduction agency. The organization says it works throughout the northern region of the province to, “promote awareness, initiate prevention and provide care and support.”

This will be the first custom-built supervised injection site of its size in Canada.

“The name of this is a ‘supervised injection site’ but it’s actually only half of what’s being done,” explains Allan Holmes, Founder of Iridia Medical.

“People sometimes don’t appreciate that the second half of the vehicle is the recovery area. It’s also the counselling area, it’s the place that people get connected to social services, the place that people can learn about the rehab programs and how to get treatments.”

Iridia Medical is the company that designed the one-of-a-kind site. Holmes already envisions future adaptations of the current design.

He explains, “version two or three of this as we learn more, groups are looking at how they can start some of the treatments right here in this vehicle.”

The vehicle is built on an industrial frame and designed for heavy use. “Everything is designed to work in extreme temperatures and it’s really designed to have probably a 20-year service life,” says Holmes.  

The mobile site is fully equipped with medical grade equipment, as well as various security features to ensure the safety of staff, users and the surrounding area.

Watch Everything GP take a tour of the mobile consumption site: