Downtown drop-in centre hopes washroom sensors help prevent overdose deaths

A drop-in centre in central Ottawa will buy and install motion sensors in its single-occupant washrooms after a steady rise in opioid overdoses on and around its property.

Richard Leblanc, executive director of Centre 507 in Centretown, said staff regularly monitor people close to overdosing and provide some form of medical intervention three to five times a week.

"We know that this product will save lives. We know someone is going to die on our property — even with our interventions," Leblanc said, adding the sensors should be installed in about six weeks.

Last week, Leblanc said the centre was spurred into action because five overdoses required either naloxone or chest compressions.

"It's just something that we have to do and we hope that others follow our lead and do it as well."

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The adult drop-in centre at the corner of Bank and Argyle streets provides warm meals and access to other support services based on need. 

Leblanc said installing door-triggered motion detectors will alert staff through their phones if someone overdoses in a washroom and provides added dignity and privacy since staff currently check in five minutes after someone goes into the washroom.

Leblanc said other facilities might have staff watching washroom doors or a light on a timer as a reminder. 

Isolation 'primary factor' in overdose deaths

Brave Technology Co-operative, which has an office in Vancouver, produces the sensor technology that uses "highly attuned radar" to discern a possible overdose.

"An overdose type of stillness or after a heart attack or any other medical emergency … is a completely different kind of stillness than a person trying to be still or being still in a washroom space," said Oona Kreig, the company's chief operating officer.

Kreig said her organization developed the technology to free up staff at organizations who are helping people using drugs.

"They don't have to become washroom managers, they get an opportunity to do their work," she said.

Kreig said there have been 150 washroom sensors installed in Canada and the U.S. with 68 overdoses reversed. She said Centre 507 is the first organization in Ottawa to install their sensor.

"Is it going to end the overdose crisis? ... No, I don't think so. But it is going to address that isolation is the primary factor for overdose fatalities," she said.

Centre 507 is currently trying to raise money to help pay the $3,000 licensing fee necessary for the next three years, which Kreig said is meant to upkeep the technology, including software for alerts, as well as data analysis.

Leblanc said he has seen a significant growth of substance use trends in Centretown and most services are currently aimed at injection-drug use.

"More and more people are inhaling and overdosing and they have nowhere to go," Leblanc said.

Ottawa Public Health presented an update on its overdose response strategy to the city's board of health at Monday's meeting. The report suggests inhalation use is surpassing injection use and new tools are required to address that trend.

Public health officials said it did not have a representative available for an interview Tuesday.