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DEPUTATIONS REGARDING MOTION 21-G-149, REVIEW OF PROPOSED SUPERVISED CONSUMPTION SITE LOCATIONS
Councillor J. Harris declared a potential pecuniary interest on the foregoing matter as he has a family member who works for the CMHA Simcoe County Branch. He did not participate in the discussions or vote on the foregoing matter. He left the virtual General Committee meeting.
The following individuals provided Deputations regarding motion 21-G-149, Review of Proposed Supervised Consumption Site Locations:
1. Christine Nayler spoke about her personal experiences noting that she has suffered after losing her son to a toxic drug poisoning. She described her son as a born advocate and activist, highly educated, with a love for life prior to her son's experiencing struggles with a mental illness and substance use issues over the last eight years of his life.
Ms. Nayler expressed her concerns that her son faced, with a mental illness leading him to using drugs and alcohol to self medicate and help him cope. She advised that they spent seven years fighting a broken system trying to get him the help that he needed.
Ms. Naylor commented on her son's continued struggles leading to the progression from alcohol to cannabis crack cocaine and then to crystal meth. She expressed her belief that as her son used these drugs as his medicine to help him to cope with the bipolar disorder and if he had access to safe supply of these drugs, he would still be alive today.
Ms. Naylor discussed the growth of their community breakfast program offered seven days a week for those experiencing homelessness or precariously housing and food insecurity. She noted the program has brought the community closer in sharing their struggles, and in dealing with grief of losing loved ones to drugs. Ms. Naylor provided comments received from members of the program that a Supervised Consumption Site is a starting point, a place for people to connect to the services that can help them, to keep...
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