The incident magnified existing issues of low wages and burnout. “The cumulative impact of grief, trauma, and exposure to violence can be really challenging,” Aalhus says. When “coupled with the uncertainty of the work and the political rhetoric that makes this into a moral conversation,” she adds, “it can be really draining for people.”

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Still, the model has limits. “Supervised consumption sites can’t carry the weight of a structural crisis on their own,” Aalhus says. She calls them a Band-aid solution—an effective one—to a problem grown out of control after years of government inaction. What’s missing, she argues, is a response that isn’t siloed: one that includes an accessible, regulated safe drug supply, culturally relevant treatment, evidence-based drug policy, and safe, affordable housing.