Leader in harm reduction services for drug users retiring

After 16 years advancing many harm reduction programs for Londoners who use drugs — Brian Lester is retiring.

“I feel like the organization is in a really good place to hand the reins over to someone else,” Lester explained.

During his time leading Regional HIV/AIDS Connection — formerly the AIDS Committee of London — he has overseen the expansion of services, including one of the largest needle programs in Ontario and the province’s first application for a supervised drug consumption site.

“There’s been a tremendous amount of growth and acceptance of harm reduction,” he said.

Lester added that support in London continues to grow, but community-wide education about what it is, and isn’t, must continue, and told CTV News London, “You think about a supervised consumption facility, you think about the safe supply program.”

As construction of the permanent supervised drug consumption site at 446 York Street nears completion, he believes it’s just a first step given the scope of the crisis.

“One facility in a community probably isn’t enough,” he explained. “We probably need to think about other models of how that can be delivered.”

The continued expansion of harm reduction services will be handed over to his eventual successor, but Lester sees growing community collaboration as a crucial step.

“We need to come together and solve this across multiple sectors, so I’m hopeful, but it’s going to take us a number of years to get out of this mess,” he said.

As for his legacy, Lester said nothing could have been accomplished without his dedicated staff that grew from a dozen people to over 70.

That shared legacy resides in the many lives saved.

“I think about the over 600 opioid reversals that we have provided in the program. That’s a pretty profound and significant impact preventing death in our community,” he said.

Lester will begin his retirement in March.