PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — After three years of waiting since the Rhode Island General Assembly passed a law permitting a pilot program for harm reduction centers, construction on the state’s first safe injection site is now complete.

Project Weber/RENEW announced that the site will open in the coming weeks, providing a supervised space for individuals to test and use drugs while offering access to recovery support services.

“We’re going to have two smoking rooms, which will accommodate four individuals for each room,” said Dennis Bailer, Overdose Prevention Program Director, in September. “We’re going to have our injection space, that will be available for eight individuals for a total of 16. We decided on a staff-to-client ratio of 1-to-4.” According to the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), 404 people died from overdoses last year, marking the first decline in overdose fatalities in four years. However, fentanyl was involved in 78% of those deaths.

Rhode Island made history in 2021 as the first state to legalize safe injection sites, though New York opened the first two such sites in the U.S. that same year.

Delays have plagued the state’s safe injection site, with construction only beginning this fall at the Willard Avenue location near Rhode Island Hospital.

Before it can open, the site still requires approval from state agencies. The Department of Health informed Target 12 that Project Weber/RENEW must receive clearance from the state fire marshal’s office before its final review process can begin.

“Once that’s complete, we will conduct a review of the site’s final operating policies to ensure compliance with state regulations and patient safety standards,” said RIDOH spokesperson Annemarie Beardsworth. “Once they are in compliance, RIDOH will issue a license.”

Opponents of safe injection sites, funded by state opioid settlement funds, have voiced concerns, suggesting the funds should be directed exclusively toward recovery services.

Safe injection sites have been successfully used for decades to prevent overdose deaths in countries like Canada. Bailer emphasized that no overdose deaths have been reported at any such site worldwide.