Thunder Bay gets $3M from Ontario for safe sobering beds to help people access support
CBC
Ontario is contributing nearly $3 million for the establishment of safe sobering beds that would be a first in Thunder Bay, to help those under the influence of substances access support.
Sobering beds, which are available in other parts of Ontario, provide a place for people under the influence of drugs or alcohol to stay for up to 24 hours. The goal is to help them stay out of emergency rooms and jail.
There are currently no safe sobering beds in Thunder Bay. The voluntary service also allows people to access other resources, such as primary care and addiction treatment.
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit had the highest opioid toxicity mortality rate in the province last year compared to other public health units in Ontario. Last month, the province announced the city's only safe consumption site will close by the end of March.
The creation of a safe sobering centre was among the recommendations from the joint inquest into the deaths of two Oji-Cree men in 2022 — Roland McKay and Don Mamakwa. Both died while in police custody in Thunder Bay.
"They did not die with dignity," said Janine Black, president and CEO of St. Joseph's Care Group, the organization that will operate the new safe sobering beds.
Mamakwa, 44, was a member of Kasabonika First Nation. He died in 2014 after being arrested on the suspicion of public intoxication. His autopsy said his cause of death was ketoacidosis, a serious complication of Type 2 diabetes, alcohol use disorder and sepsis (when the body's response to an infection damages its own tissues).
McKay, 50, was Mamakwa's uncle and a member of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation. He died in 2017 while in police custody; it was determined he died of natural causes.
It's hoped the safe sobering bed program will prevent what happened to these men from happening again, said Black.
"This is a chance for people to go somewhere so they are not on the street, they're not in the emergency department, they're not in police services, but they are being safely picked up and brought to a space where they can have someone greet them, let them get sober and offer them the opportunity, if they're ready, to reach out for further services," she said.
Michael Tibollo, Ontario's associate minister of mental health and addictions, was in Thunder Bay on Thursday to announce the funding for the sobering beds.
"We've identified Thunder Bay as an important part of the continuum of care that we're building in the community, but also as a place where we can showcase how the pieces will come together," Tibollo said of the province's plan for addiction services.
"Our experiences here will help us inform decisions in other parts of the province as well."
More than 30 organizations collaborated on the safe sobering bed proposal. Black said a steering committee is working on choosing a location for the beds, whether that be a newly constructed building or an existing space.
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