Belleville, ON, Mayor Neil Ellis has declared a state of emergency because of the city’s growing addictions, mental health and homelessness crises and the resulting impact on emergency services. “The past two days have exemplified just how critical the addiction, mental health and homelessness crisis has become in our community,” said Ellis in a Thursday press release. “We, as a City, know that we are at the point where doing our best doesn’t cut it anymore.”Ellis admitted Belleville’s emergency services, healthcare system and municipal resources “are being stretched to the very limits and we are close to a breaking point.” Until it begins to see meaningful discussions on how to address the matters, he predicted no changes will happen. At the moment, the City of Belleville said emergency services continue to respond to perceived and actual drug overdoses and are finding multiple patients at one time. On Tuesday afternoon, it acknowledged the largest was nine overdoses at one time during one call for service. An emergency declaration acts as a request for support from the Ontario and Canadian governments and falls under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA). The EMCPA defines an emergency as a situation or an impending one constituting a danger of major proportions that could result in serious harm to people or property. Ellis concluded by calling on the Ontario and Canadian governments for support. “I urge our local municipal partners facing the same issues to do the same,” he said. The Belleville Police Service (BPS) issued a notice to residents on Tuesday to avoid the downtown area after first responders dealt with 14 drug overdoses. READ MORE: Belleville police warn people away from downtown as EMS responds to 14 drug overdosesBPS responded to 13 overdoses within one afternoon — between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. — and reported another one later. Nine of the victims were transported to hospital and five of those hospitalized were given high-priority status.
