Manitoba’s Mobile Overdose Prevention Site to lose federal funding in October

Sunshine House’s Mobile Overdose Prevention Site (MOPS) is expected to lose funding at the end of October.

According to the community drop-in and resource centre the removal of federal funding could put the MOPS at risk of closing.

Until October 31, the MOPS is receiving funding through Health Canada’s Substance Use and Addictions Program.

“This news of this critical funding loss, and the resulting potential closure of our MOPS program, is a significant blow to life-saving harm reduction work in the city,” said Levi Foy, executive director of Sunshine House.

“With the continued increase in drug poisonings due to toxic drug supply, we cannot allow this program to discontinue. The community needs to have a safe place to test and use drugs with people they have come to know and trust.”

The site which is located in Winnipeg operates five days a week. It offers community supports such as drug testing, reversing overdoses, education on using naloxone, and referrals to community resources.

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“People will not stop using drugs because MOPS is at risk of closing,” Foy explained, “But it does mean many folks may lose the ability to make informed decisions about how they’re using and this will have devastating consequences for the community, including potential loss of life. This is completely preventable.”

Since January, Sunshine House says the MOPS has provided over 300 rapid HIV tests and connected those testing positive to care and treatment.

“Testing drugs and reversing overdoses is a critical part of the work we do here at the MOPS,” said Davey Cole, MOPS coordinator.

“We are also doing other important community-building work like developing trusting relationships with community members, supervised training and employment opportunities for people who use drugs, offering food and drinks, and providing referrals to other community organizations.”

In addition, over 14,000 visits to the MOPS have been made between Nov. 2022 and June 2023. In that time, over 2,300 naloxone kits were given.

“There is a demonstrated need for this program and that is important to the community,” Foy said. “We are doing our best to ensure it stays open and continues to support folks who use drugs.”

According to Sunshine House, $275,000 will need to be raised to keep the MOPS open and operational once federal funding ends in October.