LONDON, ONT -- Break-ins and vandalism are plaguing London's core business districts since COVID-19 forced many temporary closures.
Now a prominent housing advocate is pitching a controversial solution provide a safe supply of drugs to severely addicted Londoners for free.
Housing advocate Abe Oudshoorn says the price of illegal street drugs has risen since COVID-19 tightened cross-border travel.
“Because of that, people are having to find other ways to fund their habit. That’s why you get things like property crime and break and enters,” says Oudshoorn.
Every day brings more boarded up windows in London’s core business districts as owners protect their temporarily closed businesses.
Oudshoorn says while it may seem counterintuitive, London should consider expanding its safe supply program which currently prescribes safe drugs to about 100 heavily-addicted people.
“Legally prescribing a substance as a replacement for how else they might be acquiring drugs, the substances they are using, and all the negatives that go along with that,” said Oudshoorn.
London police have responded to the security concerns by beefing up foot patrols and deploying their mobile command centre in the core.
That traditional response comes with a steep price tag for taxpayers.
Oudshoorn says while safe supply of drugs is a controversial idea for many in the community, the harm reduction strategy can stabilize a person so they can start addressing underlying causes of their addiction.
“Sometimes it's a crisis or the unexpected that pushes us to try new things,” says Oudshoorn.
