‘Nanaimo got worse much quicker:’ evolving downtown overdose prevention site aiming to better support clients

Data presented on Friday painted a picture of an improving, albeit still tragic situation.

Nanaimo has recorded 53 fatalities linked to drug toxicity this year to the end of August, well below the pace of the 98 lives lost last year and the record 119 fatalities in 2023.

The rates of deaths are following the trend with 59.6 people per 100,000 population lost in 2025 so far, down from 73.4 in 2024 and 91.7 in 2023.

The region is currently at its lowest levels of fatalities and rate of deaths since the pandemic, however, it still has the second-highest rate of fatalities on Vancouver Island, behind only Campbell River.

(Island Health)

Expansion of 250 Albert St. is hoped to continue pushing trends downward, better connecting those living with substance use challenges to treatment and supports.

“Since opening in 2017 [on Wesley St.], there have been 160,000 total visits to the OPS,” Nguyen. “The OPS also provides supplies, gives out information, it gives referrals to treatment as well. Since opening about 270,000 supplies, information, brochures, referrals have been made through the centre.”

He added a big focus is on youth and young adults.

Creating positive interactions early in someone’s life and/or battle with addiction can have powerful impacts, Nguyen said.

“In the long run, that will prevent people from falling into the stream. We know poverty is another risk factor, and so that would require another approach as well. If we focus only on harm reduction, if we focus only on treatment, we’re missing this other piece and people will continually fall into that stream.”

Nguyen admitted prevention is a difficult avenue to garner funding for, as results aren’t seen for a considerable amount of time.

(Island Health)

Wellness Centre expansion
Under construction both inside and out, Island Health expects the facility to be fully operational by late spring, well behind schedule.

It will feature different team-based approaches linked to substance use and primary care outreach, and be open 10 to 12 hours a day during daytime hours.

Amanda Lemon, Island Health’s director of clinical service delivery for mental health and substance use programs, told councillors they hope some early decisions in the planning stage will lead to a broader demographic of people using the site.

“We have intentionally designed the space with different entrances and exits, so the OPS will be on one side with drug checking services and then the rest of the wellness and recovery services on the other side with a different entrance.”

One team, the Rapid Access Addiction Clinic (RAAC) team, will operate mainly as a walk-in service, with space for appointments and follow-ups.

“The goal with a service like a RAAC is to divert people from emergency rooms, who are requiring support with their prescriptions or missed doses…so that we can divert some of that traffic back to the clinic.”

Lemon stressed the Wellness Centre is not designed to be a social service, replacing The Hub on Victoria St., for example, but rather to provide targeted medical help.

She said it would not be an overnight or casual service.

“People can come in and receive treatment, prescription work on whatever primary care challenges that they might be facing, and they would have appointments or walk in, and then they would go about their day. They might come in for several hours if they have a specific treatment that we are providing.”

The hope for Island Health is the stability of health concerns independent of, or linked to, addiction, can have a ripple effect in people’s lives.

“Success and moving on to temporary or transitional, and then permanent housing, is really challenging when your health needs are not fully met, and it’s a day-to-day kind of battle. Stabilization of any piece, and any way we can support somebody in stabilizing any piece of their life will help.”

Council’s patience with 250 Albert St., which is located immediately next to City Hall in downtown Nanaimo, has fluctuated in recent years.

A staff-led proposal for a fence around sections of City Hall property to address staff safety concerns was quickly shot down in July.

However, Councillors have regularly stated their challenges with the site and its impact on neighbourhood safety, as well as the safety of City staff coming and going from City Hall or the adjoining Service and Resource Centre.

A motion led by Coun. Ian Thorpe stalled in the summer, but is likely to return before the year’s end, for the City to request the closure of 250 Albert St.

A high-profile drug bust at the OPS over a year ago has also amplified public safety concerns regarding the service.

Coun. Erin Hemmens Friday indicated the City is considering additional security in the area to address those concerns, and openly asked whether Island Health would partner with them on that front.

Expressing frustration at the drug toxicity crisis as a whole, in particular its length, Mayor Leonard Krog offered a self-admittedly ‘cynical’ theory for reduced numbers of fatalities.

“When I look at the statistics…where the unregulated drug deaths and death rate per 100,000 population that peaked in 2023 and is dropping. How do you respond to the cynical observation I hear from many people: the reason the death rate is dropping is because we’ve killed off the vulnerable population through our neglect, and the death rate is dropping for that reason?”

Island Health chief medical health officer Dr. Réka Gustafson said the region is still effectively back to where it was pre-pandemic.

“When the overdose emergency was declared, there was a substantial decline in deaths in 2019 and then the pandemic was declared, and there was a precipitous and immediate increase in deaths, likely related to the withdrawal of those services, or the restriction of those services, followed by the drug supply becoming substantially more toxic. Now, many of those services are expanded and put back in place.”

Nanaimo’s OPS is operated by the mid-Island branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Nanaimo’s OPS is beyond the purview of the City of Nanaimo — it exists due to a ministerial order struck in 2016 in response to the ongoing toxic drug crisis.

Eight of the nearly 60 OPS sites in B.C. are located on Vancouver Island.

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by Alex Rawnsley

‘Nanaimo got worse much quicker:’ evolving downtown overdose prevention site aiming to better support clients

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