Press Release: Moms Stop the Harm wants urgent action to end overdose crisis

VICTORIA, BC - Moms Stop the Harm (MSTH) spokesperson and co-founder Leslie McBain said, “We want to know how many more of our loved ones have to die before governments take the opioid crisis seriously,” in response to figures released today by the Public Health Agency of Canada on the number of opioid-related deaths in 2019.

The agency reported 3,823 deaths in 2019, bringing the total number of fatalities to 15,393 in the last four years alone.

McBain said that this year’s death toll is likely to be worse due to social isolation, an increasingly toxic drug supply and reduced harm reduction, treatment and recovery services. In some provinces and territories, the number of overdose deaths will likely be more than the number of people to die from COVID-19.

“That’s right, we have more than one national public health emergency on our hands and we think it’s time for the federal government to acknowledge this by declaring it as one so that it is taken seriously and funded appropriately,” said McBain.

“We call for urgent action to end the criminalization of people who use drugs because it causes them to use and die alone,” said McBain. “We also call for community-driven, lower barrier models for safer supply, which allow people to replace toxic street drugs with safer pharmaceutical alternatives.”

McBain noted that safer supply could be implemented right now in all provinces, based on new federal “pandemic prescribing” guidelines, but most provincial governments lack the political will to do so. “They choose to ignore the fact that dead people don’t recover,” she said.

 “We need urgent action so that our children, family and friends don’t die before they are able to get help,” said McBain. “Our loved ones don't have to die. Most opioid related deaths are preventable. We can fix this, but governments need to do more. A lot more.”

 “At the moment, there is no comprehensive pan-Canadian plan to address the opioid crisis. This is a shameful and heartbreaking state of affairs. As a society, we need to do better,” said McBain.

MSTH is a network of Canadian families impacted by substance use related harms and deaths. We advocate to change failed drug policies and provide peer support to grieving families and those with loved ones who use or have used substances.

For more information, contact Info@momsstoptheharm.com

Leslie McBain, Pender Island, BC - Deborah Hale Bailey, Vancouver, BC - Helen Jennens, Kelowna, BC - Petra Schulz, Edmonton, AB - Angela Welz, Edmonton, AB - Marie Agioritis, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Sheila Jennings, Toronto, ON - Christine Wingate, Ottawa, ON - Isabelle Fortier, Montreal, QC

Overdoses spiking in Calgary while mobile supervised consumption site collects dust

Guest blog by Marilou Gagnon RN,PhD (Victoria, BC) published with consent. A shorter version of this text was shared in a twitter thread,

The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed nearly 4 months ago and since then, all eyes have been turned to this unfolding public health emergency. However, let us not forget that Canada was already in the midst of an unprecedented public health emergency before COVID-19 – one that has taken the lives of more than 15,000 Canadians in less than 4 years and stalled our national life expectancy. The overdose crisis is not going away because of COVID-19. 

In fact, it is getting worse. 

Many cities across the country have been reporting spikes in overdoses and overdose deaths amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This is true for Vancouver and Toronto. It is also true for other cities including Victoria, Guelph, Windsor, Red Deer and Calgary.

Three factors have been contributing to this rise in overdoses and overdose deaths: reduction and closure of essential supervised consumption services, self-isolating requirements forcing people to use alone, and disruption of supply chains combined with the lack of access to a safe drug supply. Two of the most important measures governments can take now to address this dual public health emergency is to implement safe supply programs and scale up access to harm reduction services including supervised consumption services.             

This brings me to the situation in Calgary. 

IIn 2019, Calgary recorded the highest number of overdose deaths in the province. Despite this, there is currently only one supervised consumption site in operation in the city. Due to COVID-19, this site has been operating at reduced capacity, which has resulted in a drop in visits from 6,600 a month between December and February to 5,850 in March and 4,440 in April. At the same time, the site has been recording an increase in overdoses. Between December to February, staff responded to an average of 57 overdoses per month. In March, they responded to 83 overdoses and 87 overdoses in April. 

A similar spike in overdoses has been reported at the city’s largest homeless shelter, the Drop-In Centre. On a regular night, before COVID-19, the Drop-In would see as many as 650 people per night. At reduced capacity, it now welcomes about 300 people per night. Despite this, staff were called to respond to 47 overdoses in the month of March alone, a 327% increase from the month of February. This has contributed to high levels of moral distress and trauma among the staff who are not only managing multiple overdoses in a shelter setting but also doing so without the supports of an in-house supervised consumption service (and team).  

Rapid implementation of a mobile site could address gaps in supervised consumption services in the city and, in turn, reduce the risk of overdoses, and overdose deaths.  

There is a mobile site available in Calgary – but Alberta has taken it off the table. 

Leslie Hill, HIV Community Link executive director, inside the new mobile safe drug consumption site, in Calgary on Thursday. CHRISTINA RYAN / STAR CALGARY https://www.thestar.com/calgary/2019/05/02/new-mobile-supervised-drug-consumption-site-announced-for-forest-lawn.html

Unfortunately, in June 2019, the provincial government placed a moratorium on any new funding for supervised consumption services in Alberta. Prior to this announcement, a mobile supervised consumption site and pictures of the brand new and fully equipped van circulated in the media. It appeared to be ready to hit the road and save lives but it remains unused to this day – despite the challenges brought on by COVID-19 and spiking overdoses. This begs the question, why is a perfectly functional mobile site not being used and why is not being deployed to support frontline workers in the middle of a dual public health emergency? What could possibly be a valid reason to withhold this essential, life-saving, service right now? Knowing that frontline services are working at reduced capacity, why not implement a rapid solution to address gaps in services and reduce the strain on a health care system that is already overextended? 

Supervised consumption sites are preventative rather than reactive. They prevent overdoses and prevent overdose-related deaths or complications. They are also equipped to safely manage overdoses and other medical emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic that do not require transfers to hospital. For these reasons, they reduce health care utilization and costs. They can also take pressure off overworked staff by preventing overdoses and helping more effectively manage them when they do occur. In turn, this reduces the risk of COVID-19 spreading to staff and clients – and to the broader community. 

In the context of a dual public health emergency, governments should be doing everything in their power to prevent overdoses, and reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19. This means deploying all the resources at their disposal – including a mobile supervised consumption site.  

Dr. Marilou Gagnon, RN, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Nursing at the University Victoria and a Scientist at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research. She is also the President of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association.    

Nine Reasons to Support #SafeSupply

#SafeSupply Saves Lives - By Corey Ranger, RN, BN (Victoria BC). Shared on Twitter May 24, 2020.

Meet some of the Vancouver DTES unsung heroes.

By Jesse Winter @jwints, re-posted from Twitter on April 17, 2020, with permission.

Meet some of the #DTES #frontlineworkers, now battling two health emergencies at once - overdoses, and #COVID19. I’m starting a portrait series to highlight some of these often #unsungheroes.

This is Thomus Donaghy, Delilah Gregg and Sharon Buchanan. Thomus and Delilah help keep people from dying of overdoses at the Molson Overdose Prevention Site and @VANDUpeople. Sharon helps the community access financial services at Pigeon Park Savings.

This is Adam Charbonneau, Angel Gates, and Sam Laudon. Adam’s a member of the Community Action Team, Sam is a peer research assistant and Angel is an advocate. All of them help give voice to people society tends to overlook.

Rodney Beamish is a supervisor at @vancouverops, which is also where Trey Helton is a manager. Shawn Giroux, in the red hoodie, is a manager at the Molson Overdose Prevention Site.

Lorna Bird (with her dog Joy), Kevin Donaghy and Hugh Lampkin all work @VANDUpeople , advocating for people who use drugs.

Chris Livingstone (wearing the mask) is a peer worker with @WAHRS, and works frequently at Oppenheimer Park. Kevin Yake is a board member and supervisor @VANDUpeople. Melanie Pratt works @Vancouverops.

An extra shout-out to @ironnieg for helping introduce me to many of the folks I’ve met so far (but have yet to photograph!).

Maybe you noticed that despite being #FrontLineHeroes lots of the folks in these photos aren't wearing PPE. I met some when they were not at work. But PPE supplies are tight all over. If you have some to spare, consider donating it (or some cash, if you can) to @DteSresponse.

Please contact Jesse if you or someone you know wants to be part of this photo project.

Jesse Winter @jwints Freelance visual journalist. Bylines and photos @Guardian, @VICE, @TorontoStar, @GlobeandMail and elsewhere Instagram: @jwintsphoto email: jessewinter@jessewinter.net

Flood: The Overdose Epidemic in Canada

There’s no sugarcoating it – Canadian lives are being taken at an alarming rate by apparent overdose-related deaths. Lives are being senselessly taken at the hands of devastating overdoses. Between January 2016 and September 2019, there have been more than 14,700 apparent opioid-related deaths. Flood: The Overdose Epidemic in Canada is a documentary that aims to reduce the stigma around substance use disorder (SUD) and inspire others to take action. "From major cities to small towns this issue has taken lives, ruined families and flooded our communities." You have been #CaughtInTheFlood

Several advocates of Moms Stop The Harm, including our co founders Leslie McBain (Pender Island, BC) and Petra Schulz (Edmonton, AB), Deb Hale-Bailey (Vancouver), Kym Porter (Medicine Hat), Sheila Jennings and Irene Paterson (Toronto) contributed to this documentary, as did many key players in the Canadian drug policy and harm reduction community.

The film makers for Flood: The Overdose Epidemic in Canada are:

Adam D'Addario

Director/Producer

Adam D’Addario is a filmmaker and our director. Adam began filmmaking at a young age, and taught himself how to produce and edit videos. Adam is passionate about not only his films, but about giving others a voice. He started Flood by setting out to direct and produce an independent documentary from the perspectives of those affected by the Overdose Epidemic.

Kirsten Rowe

Assistant Director

Kirsten Rowe is a filmmaker and our assistant director. Her passion began in elementary school when she began making stop-motion films about important Canadian issues. After having the ability to attend a Governor General’s dinner to address the issues shown in her films, she realized the impact that could be made through this medium.

Stefano D'Addario

Production Manager

Stefano D'Addario is the Production Manager for Flood: The Overdose Epidemic in Canada. He is also Adam's older brother. Stefano completed his degree in Marketing at Humber College and is working towards a degree at York University. He became involved in the project after attending a protest in Toronto, Ontario.

Connect with the Flood team via their Facebook page.