A Port Moody advocate working to raise awareness about the perils of the toxic drug supply is taking little comfort in the latest report from the BC Coroners Service that shows the death from toxic-drug poisoning in the province is at its lowest point in four years.
Chloe Goodison, who started the NaloxHome Society to educate young people in the Tri-Cities and beyond about the toxic drug supply and teach them how to administer Naloxone, an opioid antagonist that can reverse an overdose, said there’s still too many people dying.
“As the drug poisoning crisis continues to take our very own community members, we become increasingly aware of the severity of this situation,” Goodison told the Tri-City News.
“By some degree of separation, most British Columbians know someone who has lost their life to overdose.”
The Coroners Service report, released Tuesday, July 30, shows 1,158 people died from using toxic drugs in the first six months of 2024. That’s 121 fewer than the same time period last year.
The death rate per 100,000 population of 40.8 is the lowest since 2020, when it was 34.4.
In the Tri-Cities’ local health authority, 15 people died in the first three months of the year — the most up-to-date figures available — while 47 deaths were reported in all of 2023.
Jennifer Whiteside, B.C.'s Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, said the government continues to add services and remove barriers across the province to help reduce those numbers.
“We will continue to work to ensure everyone in B.C. has access to the right care at the right time and in the right place,” she said in a news release.
“Every single one of these deaths is a stark reminder that there is more work to do.”
Goodison said her group of about 60 volunteers is an important part of that work.
She said since starting in 2021, NaloxHome has reached 16,000 young people in schools, workshops and at community events and more than three-quarters of them said their first knowledge about the toxic drug supply came from the organization.
“This really points to the fact that widespread drug education is overdue,” Goodison said, adding it should be implemented province-wide as part of the school cirriculum.
“Education efforts are essential in raising awareness of the drug poisoning crisis, leading people to harm reduction practices, de-stigmatizing the people who use drugs and ultimately slowing the pace of toxic drug deaths.”
The crisis is also putting a strain on public services.
According to a report recently presented to Coquitlam council, that city’s fire department attended 218 incidents at the 3030 Gordon shelter and supportive housing facility in 2023, most for drug poisoning or overdoses.
“The community, front line city staff, shelter, housing and support service providers acutely feel the increase in need and gaps in service,” said Coquitlam’s general manager of planning and development services. Andrew Merrill.
A homeless shelter is out of control. Coquitlam wants action https://t.co/4JmYV5Vwcf
— Tri-City News (@TriCityNews) July 12, 2024
