A makeshift memorial filled with little paper hearts was added to the front office at the Living Positive Resource Centre last summer, to remember those lost to the fentanyl crisis.
香蕉视频直播淭here are so many people who walked through our doors every day for years and we香蕉视频直播檙e not going to see them again,香蕉视频直播� said Sheila Kerr, harm reduction and education co-ordinator with Living Positive.
The memorial offers a chance for people to remember who they lost and find a little calm amid the crisis that香蕉视频直播檚 unfolded around them.
香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檒l be told about one death in the morning, then I will have another person tell me about the death of someone else香蕉视频直播he community is traumatized,香蕉视频直播� she said.
香蕉视频直播淎 couple of years ago, a non fatal overdose would be the talk of the town for months香蕉视频直播攖hat香蕉视频直播檚 not the case now. People don香蕉视频直播檛 have a chance to process the death to grieve or mourn because there will be another death to follow.香蕉视频直播�
The numbers the Coroner香蕉视频直播檚 Office provides once a month offers supporting evidence. There have been 24 overdose deaths in Kelowna since the start of the year and, while many measures have been implemented to reduce drug deaths, casualties keep adding up.
The gravity of the situation became even more clear across B.C. last Wednesday, when front-line workers responded to 130 suspected overdoses April 26香蕉视频直播搕hat香蕉视频直播檚 the most overdose calls in a single day.
BC Emergency Health Services says that figure included 18 suspected overdoses in the Interior, 52 in Vancouver, 38 in the Fraser Valley, and 18 on Vancouver Island.
While the losses keep adding up, the trauma isn香蕉视频直播檛 being addressed.
香蕉视频直播淭here are no services for people to go and talk about their losses,香蕉视频直播� she said.
The overdose death crisis is being addressed in a number of ways, but Kerr said she believes an important piece is education, both for the user and the general public.
香蕉视频直播淪egments of the population are becoming more aware of the issue and the need for more creative approaches,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淏ut I still can香蕉视频直播檛 read comments on news stories out there. There香蕉视频直播檚 still a lot of judgement and blame, but not a lot of understanding of the issues that surround addiction or people who use substances.香蕉视频直播�
The health authority, she said, is making headway by implementing forward thinking policies. One of which is the mobile overdose prevention site which rolled out late last month.
Interior Health sent out a notice last week that it would now be offering overdose prevention services in Kelowna using a mobile unit. The mobile unit replaced the overdose prevention site at 1340 Ellis Street which is now closed and will stop at a downtown location and a Rutland location.
香蕉视频直播淭he mobile overdose prevention unit will offer a place where people who use drugs can be safely monitored and treated if they overdose,香蕉视频直播� reads the statement from Interior Health.
香蕉视频直播淭he unit will also provide enhanced harm reduction services including the distribution of naloxone and other harm reduction supplies as well as some primary health care services (wound care/ foot care etc.)香蕉视频直播�
They stressed that a mobile overdose prevention unit differs from a supervised consumption site and staff will not be supervising drug use in the mobile units until an exemption for a supervised consumption site is approved by Health Canada.
Kerr worked a few shifts at the brick and mortar prevention site before it closed and said she saw an increase over time in the amount of people using the service as people began to become more familiar and comfortable with the idea. Often, she explained, it is the stigma associated with substance use that prevents people from accessing such sites.
香蕉视频直播淥nce it is identified as a safe and respectful place for people to be, it will contribute greatly to saving lives,香蕉视频直播� she said.
香蕉视频直播淲e need to stop having people die.香蕉视频直播�
