Any day above ground is a good day for an addict. Harsh but true. Where there is life, there is hope. But does it really feel that way?
One can’t turn on the news these days without hearing about another rash of overdose deaths sweeping through the Lower Mainland and the rest of this province. We have heard the alarming numbers. Emergency crews are battle weary and there is no indication this trend will fade any time soon.
The culprit: Fentanyl, an extremely potent synthetic opiod (50 to 100 times more potent than morphine). So severe is this problem that health professionals, law enforcement, social service providers and municipal officials are equipping themselves with Naloxone (a medication that reverses the life-threatening effects of opiods).
In addition to this, they are doing what they can to get the kits into the hands of those living in and around addiction. Access, availability and instruction on how to administer Naloxone is becoming more and more widespread as this epidemic rages on. Drastic times call for drastic measures: Have Naloxone; will travel.
To those who aren’t addicted, it would seem inexplicable how addicts continue to use, despite this health emergency. To be sure, they would be further baffled by the fact that it may actually seem more attractive to addicts: “This must be really good stuff! Imagine what a great high I can get!” Not to mention some having a complete lack of gratitude for having been brought back to life from the brink of death because someone has “ruined their high.” The only way to truly understand this is to be an addict, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
Perhaps what this might do, though, is highlight the fact that addiction is indeed a mental illness. Let’s face it, who in their right mind would think this way? What mental obsession would be so acute as to completely override one’s instincts for personal survival? It’s a question worth pondering.
Fraser Health has now mandated that all licenced community care facilities keep Naloxone on-site and train all staff on its use. A prudent move to be sure. First aid kit, emergency preparedness kit and now a Naloxone kit. Make no mistake: it’s the “new normal.”
Fentanyl to Naloxone. Death to life. Addiction to recovery.
The disease of addiction is a killer. No one can deny that. For those addicts who do choose life, seeking resources for recovery or safe low-income housing is challenging. There is no shortage of need, but there is a shortage of favourable options.
Charlford House is a 15-bed, residential recovery facility for women and is the only licenced facility for women in Burnaby. Having rented the same duplex for the past 46 years, the house is becoming old and tired. In order to meet further demand and provide sustainable housing, Charlford House is working towards purchasing a “forever home” that will house 24 residents. It’s a small but necessary step.
In total, there are just under 300 beds for women from Burnaby to Boston Bar. This is about one-third the number of beds for men, even though there are about the same number of male addicts as there are female addicts in this catchment area.
Charlford House also provides four beds as second-stage (transitional) housing for women who have graduated from the 90-day program. (And yes, this home is also equipped with Naloxone.)
This is nowhere near enough.
Actively seeking rental properties for the purpose of giving access to safe, affordable housing for moms and their children is another priority at this time. Because many are on a fixed low income, they are otherwise at risk of homelessness and worse.
What is your wish for the new year? Mine is that we honour all those who have died because of the “F’-word” (Fentanyl) or addiction as a whole, by breaking down the stigma of this disease and building up the lives of those who are still with us.
Give them love. Give them hope. Give them access.
Why couldn’t that become the new normal?
Miranda Vecchio is the executive director of Charlford House Society for Women.
