The first full day of operation for an Overdose Prevention site at Our Place saw about 2 dozen people show up to be monitored as they used their drugs.
The converted shipping container is located in the courtyard -- and has been dubbed the POD - Place of Dignity.
Spokesman Grant McKenzie says while no one overdosed - the fact people are choosing to be monitored is a big step forward:
"You know we saw well over 20 people come in and use the site. So in our minds that's 20 possible lives that we saved "
McKenzie says the POD is providing a safe place for loved ones of users as well ... such as a woman who came in to say her boyfriend would be using in the evening and she was worried:
"So we were able to connect her with our paramedic, give her a naloxone kit, and give her a demonstration of how the naloxone works, and what signs to look for. And that's a conversation that might not have happened prior to us opening this site."
McKenzie says the POD is a good first step in putting a dent in the shocking numbers of opiod overdose deaths.
But he cautions those who choose to use alone remain at extremely high risk because fentanyl is in pretty much everything:
"If you think you're buying heroin you're buying fentanyl. If you think you're buying cocaine it's probably cut with fentanyl, and the same with oxycontin. There's no oxycontin on the street now it's all fentanyl. I'm not sure about MDMA or ecstasy, I'm sure it's probably cut in there too. I would say almost any illicit drug you are going for is going to have some fentanyl in it."
As for the much more powerful carfentanil, McKenzie says while he hasn't seen it yet, he knows it's either here, or coming here.