One of northern B.C.'s few overdose prevention sites has closed, prompting a call for change

One of the few overdose prevention sites in northern B.C. has closed its doors, prompting its executive director to call for changes to the way harm reduction is funded in the province.

The POUNDS Project, a non-profit group based in Prince George, is run primarily by peer support workers who have experience with addiction. It has been operating its drop-in supervised consumption site downtown "on a shoestring" over the past five years, according to executive director Jordan Stewart.

Initially opened in 2018 with a grant from the province, POUNDS announced its closure on social media, saying it hopes the closure is temporary as its leadership works out a more sustainable funding model.

"It is soul-crushing to think about the fact that there might be people that die of an overdose in the time that POUNDS is closed," Stewart said. 

"But the reality is that if we don't take this time to build the organization up, this temporary closure would eventually just have become a permanent closure."

Stewart said that there needs to be a recognition that non-profits like POUNDS provide a community service amid a worsening toxic drug crisis, and need to be funded appropriately.

Prince George has been one of the cities hardest hit by B.C.'s toxic drug crisis, regularly recording some of the highest death rates per capita in the province. In 2022, 87 people died of toxic unregulated drugs, an average of one person every four days.

POUNDS' aim was to supplement the sole overdose prevention site run by Northern Health, a location that is only open from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. six days a week, with closures on Sunday.

The health authority also operates a mobile service from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The drop-in centre run by POUNDS only closed on Mondays, and also ran from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. in the evenings. 

Northern Health said in a statement that they do not provide ongoing operational costs to other projects.

In an email, B.C.'s Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions touted its hundreds of millions in annual spending on substance use services, adding "government knows there is much more to do, and is committed to investing in harm reduction and treatment and recovery services."

But Stewart says what's really needed is more information about how that funding is being used and a prioritization of on-the-ground services working to save lives.

She spoke to CBC News about the problems her organization has faced and the challenges facing other similar programs.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.