For the past 18 months, COVID-19 case rates and deaths have been under the microscope.
All the while, another crisis has been quietly escalating. The opioid crisis.
In northeastern Ontario, there have been 78 COVID-related deaths in the five health unit regions since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
In 2020, there were 249 overdose deaths in the northeast.
Five years ago, in 2016, there were 47 overdose deaths.
Earlier this year, Village Media teamed up with Journalists for Human Rights to learn about Solutions Journalism.
It’s an approach focused on how people are responding to problems.
With a bursary from Journalists for Human Rights and the Solutions Journalism Network made possible by funding from the McConnell Foundation, Village Media is putting today’s focus on the opioid crisis in northeastern Ontario.
We focused on an emerging theme across the main Northern Ontario cities: supervised consumption sites.
There are many more layers to the unfolding crisis. There is a need for early intervention, recovery beds and rehab centres. There is a need for ongoing support after someone decides to change their life. There are families left grieving when a loved one dies of an overdose.
Many people are working on the ground every day, whether it’s their job or as one of the many volunteers with grassroots organizations.
Paramedics, pharmacists, volunteers and public health staff are actively trying to get naloxone, which can temporarily reverse the effects of an overdose, into the hands of people who will need it the most.
Land-based recovery programs have also been filling a need.
We’re running all the stories today, International Overdose Awareness Day, to highlight the importance of the work being done and the many families and friends who have been affected.
The stories being featured today are: Naloxone kits 'saving a life today, changing it for tomorrow', How two land-based programs are helping people heal, and Northern cities working toward supervised consumption sites.
Resources
- ConnexOntario provides free, confidential and personalized responses 24/7 to people regarding mental health, addiction and problem gambling services in the province. It can be reached at 1-866-531-2600.
- Good2Talk offers confidential support for post-secondary students in Ontario and Nova Scotia. It can be reached by calling-1-866-925-5454 or text GOOD2TALKON (686868).
- Kids Help Phone is available 24/7 at 1-800-668-6868.