The Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, which manages the parkette, says the outdoor space has been used as a gathering place by some clients of its supervised consumption site. According to centre staff, there have been outdoor overdoses and near overdoses in the parkette, and resources from inside the centre have been required outside. As well, there have been concerns by neighbourhood residents about public safety.
Overdoses at drop-in centres in Toronto have sharply increased since the provincial government shut down four supervised consumption sites in April, with reports of overdoses in the high thirties every month.
Kelly reportedly collapsed Friday at the federal correctional institute in Butner, North Carolina, and was taken to Duke University hospital after allegedly overdosing on medication.
