Hope Mission’s overdose response team is saving lives as overdose rates continue to rise.
The rapid response team (RRT) responds to emergencies, mostly opioid overdoses, near Hope Mission’s downtown shelters. Since taking the program 24/7 in October, the number of opioid overdoses has increased ___ per cent compared to the same three-month period in 2024, while the number of deaths has decreased by ___ per cent.
Beth Klingenberg, senior manager of health services, says the results reflect years of adapting to rising need.
“We’ve had multiple iterations of this program, and each one really proved how beneficial it was.”
In May 2024, Hope Mission formed a multidisciplinary emergency response team (ERT), consisting of a paramedic, registered nurse, and a health care aide. Within _____weeks/months of starting, they tracked a 210 per cent increase in opioid poisonings in and around the downtown shelter.
“But during that same period of time, we saw a 73 percent reduction in fatalities.”
Last October, Hope Mission received funding to expand the team to provide continuous coverage day and night. Since then, the expanded program—now known as the rapid response team—has responded to nearly 400 emergencies per month, about two-thirds of them overdoses.
The RRT includes a primary care paramedic, an emergency medical responder, and a health advocate—a shelter-based support worker focused on connecting community members with services. Having front-line health care professionals based out of a shelter has dramatically reduced the number of times EMS and firefighters need to be called.
“In the first month after we launched the 24/7 rapid response team, we reduced the number of ambulance calls in our area by 83 percent.”
Because medical staff are already on site, the team can assess each situation and determine when additional emergency services are required, allowing firefighters to respond only when specifically requested.
- Read more: Hope Health services
Once conscious and stabilized, clients are informed about what happened and connected with next-step supports, including shelter, detox services, opioid replacement therapies, recovery programs, or transitional housing.
“No opioid overdose in and of itself should result in a fatality,” says Beth. “Opioid overdoses are fully reversible if someone intervenes at the right time.”