Opioid overdoses are surging in Windsor-Essex. Public health is asking the community for help

A significant surge in opioid overdoses in Windsor-Essex has the local health unit on high alert and community advocates pushing the government to answer questions on the city's defunct drug consumption site. 

The most recent alert sent to the community last week reported 22 overdoses in a single week — the highest this year. Since the beginning of June, the Windsor-Essex Community Opioid and Substance Strategy (WECOSS) has issued five opioid overdose alerts, with a majority involving fentanyl. 

There was only one week last month — June 9 to June 15 — that wasn't included in this string of alerts. 

And while warmer months tend to see an increase in overdose activity, a public health official with Windsor-Essex's health unit says they've never released this many alerts in such a short period of time. 

"It's something that we're certainly very concerned about," said Eric Nadalin, director of public health programs at the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU). 

According to data from WECHU, there were 60 calls to Essex-Windsor EMS for a suspected opioid overdose in June. That's the highest number of calls this year and 16 more calls compared to the average seen in June of 2022 and 2023.

"As a community member who's lost a child to this crisis, it makes me extremely frustrated and angry," Kathy Moreland said of the recent spike. 

Moreland is a member of local advocacy groups pushing for more resources to support people who use substances, including the CTS Coalition and Moms Stop the Harm. She's also the incoming president for the Windsor branch of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO). 

"It makes me feel extremely helpless." 

According to coroner's data posted on The Ontario Drug Policy Research Network website, in the first three months of this year, there were 25 confirmed and probable drug-related deaths in Windsor-Essex. 

Probable deaths are ones where the cause of death is still being determined, but the toxicology report is positive for opioids. Meanwhile, confirmed deaths are those where a coroner or forensic pathologist determined that the death was drug toxicity with opioid involvement.

Last year, coroner's data found that Windsor-Essex had 128 confirmed and probable drug-related deaths. 

It's not really clear what is causing this sudden increase, though Nadalin says it could be due to a range of factors. For example, there could be a new substance on the market that is extremely potent or there are more toxic drugs being mixed into the current drug supply. 

Last Monday, Nadalin says WECOSS partners, including emergency services workers and treatment providers, got together to discuss possible short-term strategies to help.