More than 130 candles will be lit and placed at the foot of Mr. PG to remember the lives lost to overdose in the city.
As Mayor Lyn Hall has proclaimed this week (Aug. 24 to 30) as Overdose Awareness Week in the lead up to International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31, a group of bereaved parents are planning to mark the day with a candlelight vigil at Prince George's iconic mascot.
It will also follow an earlier remembrance event hosted by Positive Living North downtown on Third Avenue.
“The opioid crisis has been a problem in B.C. formally since 2016 but we are just recognizing it in Prince George officially for the first time this year,” says Leanne Varney, Community Health Educator and Positive Prevention Co-Coordinator at Positive Living North.
At the afternoon ceremony, there will be Indigenous drumming, smudging, snacks, and a reading of the names of people lost by an overdose in Prince George.
Positive Living North will also be providing education, along with naloxone training both downtown and at the evening candlelight vigil.
“Northern health as a health region has the worst per capita fatalities from overdose,” says Varney.
"I think a lot of times people think it’s just an issue happening in the southern regions of our province, so it’s important to recognize that it’s our people we are losing as well.”
‘This is an absolute crisis’: Prince George officially recognizes International Overdose Awareness Day https://t.co/Ku9vetUeIx #CityofPG pic.twitter.com/FjIHcUc2DX
— PrinceGeorgeMatters (@PGMatters) August 24, 2020
There have been 134 recorded overdose deaths in the city since 2016 with 22 recorded in 2020 alone.
Provincially, there’s been 175 overdose deaths in July and in June, B.C. had its highest-ever number of overdose fatalities with 177 deaths.
Varney says part of the reason we are seeing such an increase in overdose deaths is an increasingly toxic drug supply and because of COVID-19, a lot of social supports have either closed or reduced office hours and/or staffing.
The pandemic has also resulted in extreme concentrations of illicit fentanyl in street drugs after border closures stopped the flow of substances typically trafficked in the province.
Varney says an overdose can happen to anyone and that everyone has a role to play in this crisis.
“Even if you are not someone who uses or a frontline service provider, everyone needs to increase their level of compassion for those living in our community who do struggle with substance abuse. We need to be there to support one another.”
Nicole Lindsay, who lost her 21-year-old son Noah to overdose and is one of the organizers of the candlelight vigil taking place at Mr. PG, says the naloxone training is important because you never know when you might come across someone that overdoses.
“It could be your own kid, or your brother, or sister, or friend that you don’t even know uses drugs because there’s so much stigma around drug use,” says Lindsay.
“Once you are addicted, the pain of withdrawal and the difficulty of overcoming that addiction is just insurmountable, and so they keep using and they keep using in private and that’s when people die.”
Prince George reaches 22 illicit drug deaths, BC records third month with over 170 deaths https://t.co/7yW60mrx2j #CityofPG pic.twitter.com/B1KIHUcf40
— PrinceGeorgeMatters (@PGMatters) August 25, 2020
She says she's optimistic the city is publically recognizing this problem, but believes the opioid crisis can't be dealt with without support from other levels of government and public service agencies.
Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam, as well as provincial public health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, are calling for access to a safer drug supply as and the decriminalization of small amounts of drugs for personal use as responses to the crisis.
Lindsay says it’s a misconception that the crisis only affects the street community because there’s also a hidden population who use at home alone, but are employed and carrying out fully functional lives.
“They are still forced to use a poisonous drug supply because there are no safe drugs now,” says Lindsay.
“What I would want to say, as a parent who lost a 21-year-old son who was in that population of hidden users – he was fully employed, he was functional and he kept his drug use hidden from his family and his friends – is check-in on your loved ones.”
She says we need to fight stigma facing people who use drugs so they can speak out about their struggles and access supports that can help them.
“If you are a person who uses drugs reach out for help because you matter. Every person who dies of an overdose leaves a wake of grief that is so wide in their passing that I don’t think anyone understands how much it is going to affect the family and the friends of that person who used drugs.”
The afternoon of acknowledgement and remembrance hosted by Positive Living North takes place on Monday (Aug. 31) from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at the Fire Pit on Third Avenue.
That evening, from 5 to 9 p.m., is the candlelight vigil at Mr. PG and both events will provide free drop-in naloxone training.
- with files from The Canadian Press
