A group tackling the drug overdose problem in Powell River says it’s seeing a hopeful trend.
qathet Community Action Team facilitator Jessica Colasanto told councillors Tuesday (April 14) it’s been a decade since the province declared an overdose crisis.
Colasanto says Powell River has had an “overly high overdose rate” since the 1990s when a needle exchange program started at the hospital.
“This is not new. This is not an imported problem,” she said.
As recently as the last four years, she says there’s been a decrease locally in overdose deaths.
“Considering we’ve always been a little bit high provincially, to be able to hold steady is a win and we just need to keep promoting harm reduction and combating stigma so that we are not here in another ten years,” Colasanto said.
She says toxic drugs are the leading cause of death in B.C. for people ages 10 to 59.
“Only 12 per cent of those people who are dying are unhoused so we have an image in our head of who these people are – it’s not necessarily true. It’s people in the trades are affected the most and youth unfortunately,” Colasanto said.
Councillor George Doubt believes the essential cause of the drug addiction problem is a less connected and distant society.
Councillor Cindy Elliott, a member of the qCAT, praised the work of the organization and its high participation rate of any community action team in the province. She says the public health officer regularly attends to glean information so “other communities can be like us.”
The community action team is made up of nearly two dozen agencies and organizations.
The update to city council comes on the tenth anniversary of the B.C. government declaring public health emergency due to fentanyl-related deaths.
