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From August 19, drug users in the canton of Friborg will be able to administer their products under the supervision of professionals in the immediate vicinity of the Tremplin premises. Currently, many of them are going to Bern, where the authorities have finally sounded the alarm.
The secure consumption space will open its doors on August 19 on the same (provisional) site as the Tremplin day reception center, on the Route des Arsenaux. © Charly Rappo
Published on 10.06.2024
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Freiburg drug addicts who regularly go to Bern to administer their substances in a secure environment will soon no longer have to board the train to reach their preferred location. From August 19, they will have their own infrastructure in Fribourg, right next to the temporary premises of the Tremplin day reception center on the Route des Arsenaux, near the Haute Ecole de travail social.
Housed in two rooms, one dedicated to injections and sniffing, the other to inhalation, this new secure consumption space (ECS) will be equipped to support 64 acts of consumption per day, from Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. at 15h. Supervision will be provided by professionals and the cantonal police will ensure the security of public spaces. According to estimates, between 70 and 90 hard drug users are likely to frequent this place, which is expected to generate annual costs of around 350,000 francs and whose creation is part of a series of cantonal measures intended to provide care people suffering from addiction.
Bernese complaints
During the presentation of the project to the media on Monday afternoon, State Councilor Philippe Demierre did not hide the fact that the implementation of this infrastructure – discussed for many years – experienced a boost after the receipt of an official letter sent by the Bernese authorities in 2021. They expressed their concern about the care, which has become problematic, of the many Friborg drug addicts taking advantage of the secure consumption offer present in the federal capital. At the start of 2022, the Friborg Council of State decided to move forward by approving the creation of an ECS inspired by structures already existing in the neighboring canton, as well as in Basel, Geneva and Vaud.
“This will make it possible to better manage the situation regarding consumption in the public domain”
Mirjam Ballmer
The city of Friborg was involved in the discussions, municipal councilor Mirjam Ballmer said on Monday, who welcomes a project going in the right direction. “This is a tool to better manage the situation regarding drug consumption in the public domain,” she said.
Registration required
The fact that there has never been an open scene in Friborg comparable to those in other Swiss cities means that we do not have to act urgently, added the cantonal delegate for addictions Nicolas Dietrich. It was thus possible to synchronize the project with the temporary relocation of the Tremplin, the proximity of which was an essential prerequisite. In 2028, when the Tremplin moves to its final premises on rue Hans-Fries, in the building currently occupied by the Migros Club School, the ECS will follow it there.
How will this space work? Each user wishing to administer their drug there must first register at reception, explained Patrice Zurich and Olivier Dousse, respectively interim director and sector head of Tremplin. He will have to answer a few basic questions, in particular about his place of residence (access will be reserved for people living in the canton of Fribourg) and the type of drugs he uses. Everyone must come with their own product and it is strictly forbidden for members of the management team to help with its preparation or injection. Minors and pregnant women will not be able to access the premises.
Permanence created
One of the goals of an ECS is to reduce the risk of infection and other problems induced by drug use (or pattern of use). After each product intake, an assessment of the consumer’s physical state will be carried out by a professional. Users will be required to respect a certain number of rules, exclusions of varying lengths may be imposed in the event of excesses. An act of physical violence will thus be punished with six months of banishment and denunciation to the authorities, warned Patrice Zurich.
According to Romain Bach, co-secretary general of the French-speaking Group for Addiction Studies (GREA), the Friborg ECS will be the fifth of its kind in French-speaking Switzerland and the 14the in Swiss. There are around 90 in Europe. According to numerous studies, these spaces have made it possible to drastically reduce the number of overdoses and other health problems linked to drug consumption (abscesses, myocardial inflammation). “This represents millions of francs in savings per year.” The ECS are also a first point of contact with the healthcare network and reintegration structures. The one in Friborg will be installed near the Tremplin Social Service, to provide a link to social support and therapies.
In order to answer questions from the public and local residents, an information session will be organized on June 24 at 7 p.m. at the Haute Ecole de travail social (route des Arsenaux 16a). A hotline (076 239 19 04 or [email protected]) has also been set up for residents of the Pérolles district.
