Why Safe Consumption Sites?

"Get rid of the safe consumption sites and just put those druggies in rehab." 

This sentiment can be found across Canada, mainly among people who have little understanding of addiction. It's been on my mind a lot lately, ever since the January 22nd memorial service held for 223 community members who died in the heart of Edmonton between March and December of 2025. 

223 vulnerable people. 

I took my guitar and sang a song for those 223 people, and by the time I sang the last note, my whole body was shaking from the sorrow and injustice of so many needless deaths.

223 sisters and brothers who died of causes related to homelessness in a wealthy province.

People who struggled just to live with trauma in a society that would rather pretend homelessness doesn't exist. People without homes, found dead on a park bench, in a stairwell, in a public washroom, on a sidewalk.

Many (but not all) of them killed by addiction to drugs laced with fentanyl or other poisons.

A better sentiment - a two meter sign like this
hung in our worship space for a time

I'm not a first responder, but whenever I go down to Sanctuary of Peace these days, I wear my naloxone/narcan kit belted to my waist because I just never know when it will be needed. 

Some of our community members use marijuana, thinking it's the most harmless substance they can have to feel happy or peaceful in spite of their homelessness, trauma, and other struggles. Unfortunately, if they buy it on the street, they don't know what else might be mixed into their dope.

Safe consumption sites, if we had more of them, would reduce the death toll that is on the rise among drug users in general. For one thing, using drugs in a SCS means that people are being monitored so that if they need medical help for a drug poisoning, they get it immediately. For another, such places are often the first opportunity for people to get help. They mean a person has second, third, fourth... well, as many chances as needed to break substance addiction. It's rarely one-and-done. It takes time.

The best time to encourage someone to get rid of any addiction is when they are hitting bottom, when they recognize that they can't stand it anymore and that it might kill them if they don't kick it. SCSs are places where health and community workers can offer people with addictions the opportunity to turn their life around. 

Through the use of methadone, suboxone, and other drugs that substitute for addictive substances and that can be reduced gradually, users can get a taste of life without addiction and seriously consider getting into rehab and supportive programs that help them stay sober. SCS counsellors can also connect people to other helpful resources to improve their life situations.

Unfortunately, it seems the average Joe/Jane doesn't know this, and there are many who think that shoving people into mandatory detox programs is the best plan, but nothing could be further from the truth. A person needs to be ready, to actually want to change their life, or their chances of rehabilitation are pretty much nil. 

Too many people pushed into detox before they are ready -- sometimes by well-meaning friends and family -- fall back into their old ways, and often end up dead of drug poisoning because they return to their addiction mistakenly thinking they need the same dosage they were on before rehab.

Better to keep people with addictions alive and safe until they are able to freely choose the road to wellness and get the wrap-around supports they need. Better to have Safe Consumption Sites.

I don't know how many of the 223 people we honoured on January 22nd were victims of addictions. Our government has stopped keeping stats, I suspect because they don't want the public to know the truth of this crisis, and they like the idea of forcing people into detox.

So I wear my naloxone kit, as do many others in the heart of Edmonton, and continue to speak out about the need for Safe Consumption Sites, housing, and other forms of care for the vulnerable among us. 

Thanks for reading.

Sunday Reflection: You are the salt and you are the light

Today's reflection is brought to you by

Matthew 5: 13-19.

Here's the reflection I gave at our Sanctuary of Peace morning prayer service today.

* * * * * * * 

I love salt. On Friday, I baked honey whole wheat bread and almost forgot to add the salt. Fortunately, I tasted the dough and was able to fix my mistake or it would have tasted very bland. When we talk about someone as “the salt of the earth” we are saying that they are straightforward, honest, the kind of people who add zest to life. We’re paying them a compliment. 

I also love light, especially in these dark winter mornings when I get up and light a candle to pray. Light is one of Creator’s best inventions, pretty much the first thing that happens in the Bible. God says, “Let there be light!” and it happens. When we say, someone “lights up a room when they walk in,” it’s another compliment. 

But it’s not always easy to be the salt of the earth or the light of the world, is it? In our human condition, we all have days when it’s easier to snarl than smile, or to be like this:  

Suffering is part of our human existence, and when we suffer, life becomes flat and tasteless. Sometimes it’s hard work just to keep going. I’ve been there, I know. I’m guessing we all know what it’s like to want to crawl into a dark hole and stay there. That’s why I need this pep talk from Jesus every time I hear it. 

You are the salt of the earth, he says. Who me? 

You are the light of the world, he says. Not me! Not when I'm feeling like this. 

But he insists on it. And honestly, I don’t want my life to be like salt that is trampled underfoot. I don’t really want to live in a dark hole, either. If I tell myself that, I’m lying. I mean, it’s okay to sit in darkness for a while, because healing can happen when I take a break. But what I eventually need is somebody to care enough to help me out of my dark hole. 

Jesus is doing that by his encouragement here, though sometimes I also have to talk to the God-with-skin-on people that I’ve spoken about here before, so they can help me. Do you have someone like that in your life? I hope so.

Did you hear what Jesus says about the torch? He says “No one hides a torch under a basket but puts it high on a pole so all in the house can see by its light." He says, “Let your light shine so that others may see the good you do and give glory to Creator.” Jesus is reminding us that there are others around us, too, and that our light touches others when we let it shine. And those others might need our light, even when it seems dim, when we know we're not at our best. 

Following that thought, I’d like to share with you an experience that I had when I was in the darkness. I can’t exactly replicate it here, but I can invite you to use your imagination. 

Sit as tall and as comfortably as you can, feet on the floor if that works for you, and take a deep breath in, letting it out slowly and quietly. It will work best if you close your eyes, but if you’re not comfortable with that, just relax your body, and listen to my words. Let your breathing be gentle and natural.

Imagine you are sitting on a cushion on the floor in a very dark room where you can’t see anything… But you’re not afraid… the room is warm and comfortable, and you know that you're safe… 

In the darkness, you sense that there are others around you, but when you stretch out your arms, all you find is empty space... 

Suddenly, somewhere ahead, you hear a match strike and a small light blazes, then dims. It’s hard to see, but it is there… 

Focus your attention on the dim light… After a moment, you realize that it is slowly increasing just a little… 

Soon you can see the silhouettes of three people at the front of the room who each have a lit candle in front of them… and the dark shapes of others sitting on the floor around you… 

The three candle bearers remain still, but three others stand and begin moving among the group, passing something out… and soon you have an unlit candle in your hands… 

Everyone returns to their places… and after a moment of absolute stillness, the three with lit candles reach out to light someone else’s unlit candle… 

Light is passed from one to the next, and soon comes to you from a friend you recognize… 

They smile at you as you light your candle… and you smile as you pass your light to someone else… 

A gentle, clear voice says, “Rise to your feet... You are the light of the world… Lift your light high and look around you…” 

Everyone in the room raises their candles over their heads, and the room glows even more brightly…

You realize you are surrounded by your favourite people, and they’re all smiling… 

The voice says… "No one lights a candle to hide it but raises it up so that all can find their way. Let your light shine so that all can see the good you do, and give praise to God…" 

You stand in the glow of the room, surrounded by smiling faces, wondering if heaven might be like this… 

Take a moment to tell God how you are feeling… 

I invite you to gently open your eyes and return to this space, and to pray with me with some of the words from Psalm 112 as we heard it earlier: 

Help us to know you, 
O God of Wisdom. 
Help us to be salt and light in our world. 
In Your love is the power to calm the storms of our struggle and suffering.
Help us to remember that your love is in us too, for others. 
O, that we might learn to bless others selflessly, 
to be a silent blessing for all by letting our light shine for them!
Help us to know You, 
O God of Wisdom. 

+Amen