‘Chance to save lives’: overdose awareness rally pushes for safe consumption site

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This article was published 31/08/2023 (783 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“If you are a parent or a sibling or a child or a grandparent of someone who died from an overdose, raise your hand,” community activist Mitch Bourbonniere instructs the crowd gathered at the Manitoba Legislative Building grounds.

Dozens of hands went up in response.

On Thursday — International Overdose Awareness Day — community organizations, families and supporters gathered in Winnipeg to honour Manitobans who have died from drug overdoses.

Advocates are demanding the provincial political parties commit in the lead-up to the Oct. 3 election to opening a supervised consumption site in the capital.

On the front steps of the legislature, 2,531 purple ribbons — representing toxic drug supply deaths between 2014 and April 2023 — formed a garland around photos of deceased family members.

Arlene Kolb-Last, Manitoba regional director of grassroots group Moms Stop the Harm, called on the public to vote for a party that will open a safe consumption site as a form of harm reduction.

“Today, my message is clear: there is no room in our government, in this province, for decisions to be based on religion, privilege, and we-know-better attitude,” Kolb-Last said.

“This fall, we have a chance to save lives.”

The governing Progressive Conservatives have consistently shut down calls to open a supervised consumption site in recent years.

During a phone call with the Free Press, NDP MLA Bernadette Smith (Point Douglas) said the NDP will commit to opening a safe consumption site, if elected.

“We have a government that, for the last seven years, has really failed to support those who are struggling with addictions,” Smith said. “I, myself, have lost quite a number of people under this government.”

Every year since she lost her daughter Phoebe to fentanyl poisoning in July 2020, Janis Gillam has decorated her St. James fence with purple butterflies, ribbons and photos to call attention to drug overdose deaths.

Five months after Phoebe died, she lost her stepson, Chris Read, to fentanyl poisoning, too.

“This year, we put up 418 broken hearts, because that’s how many Manitobans died last year,” she said of the fence display. “I have met so many people who have just lost a child in the last year, last month.

“It is tragic what’s happening.”

Gillam attended the rally Thursday with her grandson, Jaxon, who wore a shirt reading “I am the change” to match Last-Kolb’s “Change is coming” attire. Last month, he turned 12; Gillam wishes his mother could’ve been there to celebrate.

“How many families had to plan funerals, not graduations, birthdays and all the stuff we look forward to?” she said.

Thomas Linner, provincial director of Manitoba Health Coalition, referenced Winnipeg non-profit Sunshine House’s mobile overdose prevention site to demonstrate the effectiveness of such measures.

Since it began operating in October, the Sunshine House RV has made contact with an estimated 17,000 people. In that time, Linner said, there were 4,500 supervised drug uses and only 19 overdoses, three hospitalizations and zero deaths.

“We’re calling for a supervised consumption site in Winnipeg and Manitoba because the difference between today and tomorrow for so many people is the services offered every day by people here,” he said.

After what she views as years of political neglect, Last-Kolb wants all provincial parties to commit to tackling the toxic drug supply crisis.

“We have the evidence that harm reduction works. We have the proof that we can save lives,” she said. “How many people do we let a government let die before we say ‘enough?’”

cierra.bettens@freepress.mb.ca