The charity Turning Point is trying to determine whether Red Deer needs supervised consumption services to reduce harms associated with the opioid crisis.

Turning Point has completed surveys with 271 people in Red Deer with people who use drugs. They have results from 156 of them and the data paints an alarming picture.

About a quarter of respondents say they’ve overdosed at least once in the last six months and some have overdosed as many as 11 times within that time period.

Many users are consuming drugs in public places: 81 per cent of respondents say they’ve injected in public while more than 70 per cent have smoked in public.

Eighty-five per cent of respondents say they would be willing use supervised consumption services.

Those services are manifold and delivered with the intent to reduce harm.

Consumption supplies like clean syringes would be provided to prevent the spread of blood-borne infections. Those would be safely disposed. Conditions would be sanitary.

Users would be under watch of trained medical staff who can prevent and reverse overdoses.

Access to detox, counselling and other social services would be available.

“Supervised consumption servicing is only one service on a spectrum that can help the opioid crisis,” says Sarah Fleck, interim operations manager for Turning Point.

As Turning Point holds public meetings this week, Fleck says attendees have concerns about increased crime, needle debris and drug paraphernalia being littered.

She says research on supervised consumption in Europe and Vancouver has shown the opposite to be the case.

In 2016, Red Deer had highest per capita death rate from opioid overdoses, Fleck says.

According to Turning Point’s numbers, 90 overdoses were reported just last month, with four deaths.

“It affects all demographics, all walks of life and all age groups. It’s a very broad problem. It’s a problem that affects everybody,” Fleck says.