Shelter from the Addiction Storm

 

Frank Cormier, property manager of the Metropolitan United Church on Queen Street East, stands in front of the church on July 21, 2025.Gabe Oatley/TorontoToday

The number of drug overdoses is dropping signfiicantly in the United States and in parts of Canada as well. This is really good news for those who use drugs, those who love them, first ressponders, and a lot of church folk.

Some of you will remember that Belleville, Ontario, was in the news  in early 2024 because of a spate of overdoses and Bridge St. United Church, my final congregation was ground zero for many of them because of the outreach centre and meal ministry located there. 

Sadly, a number of churches in Toronto have seen an uptick in overdoses following the closure of four Safe Consumption Sites by the provincial government. Supervised Consumption Services supported the health of people who use drugs by providing immediate care during overdoses and connecting them to health and social services, including mental health support.Clsoing them was an incredibly short-sighted choice not supported by the statistics around successful intervention. Those with addictions have been pushed back out on the streets and often onto the properties of faith communities. 

                                                        Safe Injection Site in British Columbia 

While the plan is to create Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs in communities across the province this has been a slow process. Here are a few paragraphs from am article first published in Toronto Today

Since the provincially-mandated closure of four Toronto safe consumption sites, several local churches have reported a dramatic increase in the number of on-site drug overdoses, as well as public drug use and leftover needles and pipes. 

Staff at the Metropolitan United Church on Queen Street East, which offers drop-in programming including a foot clinic and Friday meal, have experienced the dramatic jump firsthand. 

In an interview with TorontoToday, the church’s property manager, Frank Cormier, said the church saw about one overdose on its property per week prior to the safe consumption site closures. But over the past two months, that’s increased to between two to six overdoses each week.

The change has meant the church’s property managers and janitorial team have become impromptu front-line workers, he said, pushing staff to the breaking point.   

On Monday, Cormier said he personally reversed two overdoses that day. A member of his team also recently quit last week, citing the stress of it all, he said. 

“We’re all exhausted,” Cormier said. “It’s just carnage all the time.” 

Recently released data from the Toronto Drop-In Network shows the church is not alone — ten of the group’s affiliated drop-in sites together experienced a 288 per cent increase in overdoses in June compared to one year prior. 

A warning unheeded? 

At St. Stephen-in-the-Fields Church near Kensington Market, which offers daily support to people experiencing homelessness, staff are also seeing a dramatic increase in drug overdoses on site. 

Rev. Maggie Helwig estimated that between June and July there have been about 20 or 30 overdoses on church property. Helwig said prior to the safe consumption site shutdown, the church only witnessed a handful of overdoses per year.  

She said overdoses have most commonly occurred in the encampment in front of the church. Sometimes, a friend of the person overdosing will administer naloxone, a fast-acting medication to reverse opioid overdose. But if none is available or more help is needed, Helwig said people will alert church volunteers or staff inside, who come running.  

While Helwig said reacting to each overdose is emotionally draining, her main concern is for her several dozen volunteers, some of whom are witnessing an overdose for the first time. 

Do we want those with addictions of overcome them? Of course. Will a judgemental, punitive approach work? There is no evidence that it will, as many families and front-line workers have found out. I'm grateful that many churches have overcome moral censure to provide support for those who struggle with mental illness or addiction or both. It is essential that our governments do the same.