A message from Dr. Shannon McDonald, Deputy Chief Medical Officer
August 31, 2019 is International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD). It is a day when we pause to recognize the tragic losses that have been suffered by individuals, families and communities as a result of death, or a permanent injury related to drug overdose.
This is a tragic story that is occurring everywhere in the world. It has become an especially critical issue in BC, and even more specifically among First Nations people in BC. A public health emergency was declared in BC in 2016, in recognition of the number of opioid-related deaths that have occurred. In 2018 alone, 193 First Nations people in BC have been lost to a poisoned drug supply, despite many efforts to prevent these losses.
These are not just numbers – they are people – men, women, young and not-so-young from all over the province. May these individuals – our family, friends, neighbours and co-workers – be remembered with love, and honored for trying so hard to overcome their challenges. Our hearts and prayers go out to those left behind. We grieve with you.
It is our responsibility to wrap our arms around those who are struggling with substance use disorders, and those whose traumas have made life so hard that they turn to drugs to ease their pain. Stigma, shaming and blaming only make their journeys more difficult.
International Overdose Awareness Day spreads the message that the tragedy of overdose death is preventable. We have joined with many partners – families, communities, health providers, people with lived and living experience with substance use and government partners – to make harm reduction services easily accessible to people who need it. It is our goal at FNHA to support people in their journey to wellness in whatever way we can.
We know that Naloxone is saving lives. Over 700 kits have been delivered to First Nations community service organizations in BC since 2016, and FNHA provided training to over 175 First Nations communities so that people will know how to respond to an overdose. Thank you to all who have made the effort to learn and communicate about this important response.
More treatment options are being developed so that people can more easily access supports they need on their healing journey in culturally safe environments. Mental health strategies are being developed to assist in healing from trauma and loss.
We have worked to make sure that people who need medically assisted therapies, sometimes called Opioid Agonist Therapies (OAT), can access them through their health care providers. There are ongoing discussions about how we can work in new ways to support people who use drugs by providing a supply of medications in supervised settings, to replace the toxic contaminated street drug supply while they are working to get well. More work is needed, and must remain ongoing, to look at all possible solutions and supports that can be put in place to keep people from dying of an overdose. Everyone deserves the opportunity to heal physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
The work is not done, and will not be for a long time to come. We all have a role to play.
An amazing group of people I have met in this journey is ‘Moms Stop the Harms’ – a group who have lost family members to an overdose death, or whose loved ones are at risk. They have started a campaign called the ‘Somebody’s Someone Purple Ribbon Campaign’ and are posting pictures and stories about loved ones they have lost with purple ribbons.
I will wear purple on August 31, and I invite you to join me.
Want to know more?
For more information about overdose prevention, please visit www.fnha.ca/overdose
