Since the state of public health emergency was first declared in April 2016, at least 14,400 people in the province have lost their lives to toxic drugs.
Among them are David Jean's friends, family members, loved ones, and acquaintances.
“It's mind-numbing to think of how many friends I’ve lost,” said the man who has been living on the street for the past two decades. “I don't think that any generation before me has had to deal with that much loss except for wartime.”
For many, International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD), celebrated annually on Aug. 31, serves as a moment to remember those who have died and acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind.
Initiated in Australia in 2001, the campaign spread globally, with over 1,000 events supporting the end of preventable overdoses.
For Julian Daly, CEO of Our Place Society, a non-profit offering a multitude of services to the region’s population dealing with homelessness, substance use and mental health challenges, this date holds great significance.
“It's an important day for us mainly to remember those who have died… in the toxic drug crisis because their deaths often go unnoticed,” said Daly. “[This] is a day to remember the unremembered and to make visible the lives of those who became invisible.”
Over the past few years, Daly has observed an overall worsening of the toxic drug crisis, making this more relevant than ever.
“There's no doubt that despite all the government's best efforts – and they really have done their best to try and mitigate it – [the situation] has continued to worsen,” said Daly. “People are dying in greater numbers, year in and year out.”
With 17 years of experience in the non-profit sector, Daly noted that overdoses, once considered to be 'deeply shocking' events, have become a normalized daily occurrence – a testament, he said, to how quickly things have deteriorated.
“I used to do this work in Edmonton and I remember when someone overdosed back then it was a massive event in the organization and everyone was talking about it,” Daly recalled. “Now, no one even bothers to tell me if someone's overdosed, I get told if someone dies.
“A few years ago if someone was on the pavement, passed out, people would be around them trying to get them help. Now, we just go and check if they are alive. If they're breathing and they're not turning blue, we just walk on and keep going about our business.”
Fred Cameron, senior manager at SOLID Outreach Society, said that the growing presence of unregulated drugs, particularly fentanyl, has made the crisis increasingly lethal.
According to him, one of IOAD’s goals is to break the stigmas surrounding drug use and addiction.
“The toxic drug supply has become such a big problem that we need to talk about it,” Cameron said. “The vast majority of drug use is happening by individuals behind closed doors and they're the ones that are most vulnerable.
“We can't have people using, at home, in their room, hiding it from a judgmental public. We need to get people unified and support one another.”
Serving the capital’s street community for over two decades with various harm reduction services, SOLID has helped prevent countless overdoses, according to Cameron.
Having educated more than 10,000 people on administering Naloxone, a fast-acting drug that temporarily reverses opioid overdoses, SOLID has helped slow down Victoria's death rate.
However, Cameron stressed that additional collective efforts are still needed to prevent further deaths.
“I think that we're short somewhere in the area of 300 shelter beds [and] we don't have permanent housing for a lot of people out in the community,” he said. “We could be working much better collaboratively.
“We need to get people into recovery, we need to help people with employment, we need to help with housing.”
Daly shares Cameron’s point of view.
“We still don't have enough detox facilities, treatment facilities or recovery facilities,” he said. “In fairness to the government, they really are investing in that, but we still don't have enough. The demand absolutely outstrips the supply.”
While IOAD is a day to remember, mourn and grieve, Daly noted that it can also serve as a reminder of people's successes in overcoming drug use.
Having witnessed numerous people transform their lives, from living on Pandora Avenue to becoming fully employed with families at home, he confirms that such a transition is possible.
