Somerville Supervised Consumption Site: Needs Assessment and Feasibility Report

The purpose of this needs assessment and feasibility study was to determine the conditions under which a Safe Consumption Site (SCS) would be used by people who use drugs; the feasibility of implementing an SCS in the City of Somerville, Massachusetts; and to identify concerns, challenges, and barriers. This community-engaged needs assessment and feasibility study sought to document the perspectives of people who use drugs and community members on establishing an SCS in Somerville, Massachusetts. Needs assessments from similar-sized communities in Canada were reviewed in the development of survey questions for this study [74–76], as well as the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use SCS operational guidance document [77]. All information obtained was anonymous and recorded by the investigators in such a manner that the identity of participants cannot be readily ascertained directly or through identifiers linked to the participant. As such, this work was exempt from Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. This assessment was multi-phased. Phase one included analyses of existing data and primary data collection, which was completed in April 2021. In phase two, public feedback was sought through a virtual community meeting held on June 10th, 2021. The final report with recommendations was submitted to the City of Somerville’s Department of Health and Human Services in June 2021, during phase three.The following primary data collection methods were used in this assessment:<br><br>1) A survey conducted with people who use drugs2) An online community survey of Somerville residents3) Focus groups conducted with people who use drugs<br>Of note, all surveys were conducted in 2021 for this needs assessment. However, focus groups with people who use drugs were conducted in January 2020. As these focus groups were undertaken to understand the perspectives of people who use drugs in relation to an SCS in Somerville, the study team also conducted an analysis of these existing data. In addition to these primary sources of data, secondary existing data sources on overdose rates, opioid-related deaths, etc. were also analyzed.