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Bruce Lauckner, CEO of the Waterloo-Wel- lington Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), said opioids have become similar to cancer, where the general population is impacted by one or two degrees of separation at most. "Now unfortunately, the word opioid or opi- oid addictions is like that. I don't think there is a person in this room who hasn't been affected." While there are measures in place to deal with the crisis now, there is a distinct sense of urgency in the region. "The consequences of this crisis is that if you're a 22-year-old, you can overdose before those solutions come in to effect," said Rebecca Webb, manager of performance for the LHIN. Waterloo Region has already hit a record high with 613 overdose calls to paramedics and that number is expected to reach at least 700 by the end of the year. In 2016 at this time, there were 461 calls and in 2015 at this time, there were 248. Policing Bryan Larkin, chief of the Waterloo Regional Police Service, said the opioid crisis puts them in a precarious position. "We are heavily engaged in front line response and front line services and secondly, we're tasked with enforcing federal law," said Larkin. Larkin said previous to 2015, police never tracked overdose demand on police services. When the epidemic of opioids came, they noticed more stress on resources. In 2015, there were 15 fatal overdoses requir- ing response from Waterloo police. In 2016, there were 613 demands for service for overdose-relat- ed calls. And as of Friday, there were 416 calls for service in 2017. Larkin said if the deaths were from other sources, it would be received much differently. "If we had seven deaths per month on our roadways, there would be significant outcries," said Larkin. It is estimated that 65 deaths have been caused by overdoses in Waterloo Region so far this year. It breaks down into 29 in Kitchener, 27 in Cambridge and nine in Waterloo. Larkin added that so far this year, 3,666 calls have been received for unwanted persons in Waterloo Region and most are connected with drug use. Coun. Tom Galloway said the demand on police may change the way police operate and the level of service they provide. "If your garden gnome is stolen off your front lawn, maybe a police officer doesn't come and investigate," said Galloway. "That's something the community may have to get used to." Public health Karen Quigley-Hobbs, director of infectious disease, dental and sexual health for Waterloo Region Public Health, said in her 33 years, with public health, she has yet to see anything like the current opioid crisis, despite working through community-wide issues like crack cocaine in the late 1990s and early 2000s and crystal meth- amphetamine shortly after. "I have yet to see something as complex as I have with this issue in Waterloo Region," said Quigley-Hobbs. Quigley-Hobbs said sometimes users seek fentanyl, but other times, it is taken unwillingly, which is more dangerous. It is the leading cause of a major increase in overdoses in Waterloo Region and across North America. Supervised injection services Regional staff is currently working on a study on whether or not supervised injection sites are feasible in Waterloo Region. Regional council has given staff the go-ahead to start the study, which is expected to come back to the community services committee in early 2018. Phase 1 of the study, determining the need and broad community input, has been completed. Phase 2 of the plan, with approval from regional council, would be consideration of potential locations and council/community con- sultation. If council is in agreement, staff would send an application to the province to join the supervised injection program. Coun. Helen Jowett questioned Larkin about how the enforcement around safe injection sites will be approached. "I think it's going to be a complex balancing act," said Larkin, adding that the police service will have to look at how to balance perception of enforcement with local safety. • Free Blood Glucose Monitor & Teaching • Free Blood Pressure Check • Compounding Friendly Professional Team... where your total health is our goal! hours Mon.-Fri. 9am-7pm • Sat. 9am-4pm 519-747-0320 373 Bridge St. Waterloo www.thpharmacy.com Region gathering up resources to battle opioid crisis