Advocates say more action on safe drug supply and education needed in Surrey
Surrey is the second highest city in illicit drug toxicity deaths, according to the recent BC Coroner Service report
Flags placed on Sunset Beach marking six years since B.C. declared overdose a public health emergency. (Submitted)
In a report from the BC Coroner Service released earlier this month, 165 British Columbians died from an illicit drug overdose in March, bringing the total to 548 this year only three months in.
Of that total, 56 have been reported in Surrey, making it the second-highest city in drug toxicity deaths behind Vancouver.
However, the report’s data shows a decrease in deaths since the beginning of this year, with monthly totals of 209 in January and 174 in February.
Despite the small decrease, people from the community have concerns that the City of Surrey could be doing more to help those impacted by the toxic drug supply crisis.
Traci Letts and Ann Livingston are members of the advocacy organization Moms Stop the Harm. They say the best course of action for addressing the crisis in Surrey is a safe drug supply and building health contact centres throughout the city.
“If the City of Surrey took initiative and allowed these health contact centres to go into place, it would show the people that they actually care about the citizens,” Letts says.
A health contact centre is an overdose prevention site where they offer services such as witnessed consumption, drug checking, and education on safer drug use.
“Even though a small percentage of drug users [are] going to be using these health contact centres, it helps reduce the stigma around drug use,” she says.
Drug toxicity is one of the top causes of death and years of life lost in B.C., and the rate has increased since the provincial government declared a public health emergency in 2016. Last year, the BC Coroner Service reported 2,236 deaths from the crisis, making it the highest year on record.
Letts and Livingston add that education is important to destigmatize harmful stereotypes about people who use substances. They say that the city could help with education by implementing educational campaigns in schools.
“They can actually bring this to the school trustees to get education into schools, teach people how to use Naloxone, let them know what’s going on,” Letts says. “Education has to start at the school level.”
Surrey Fire Service Chief Larry Thomas says they have two pilot programs in the works that help those impacted by the opioid crisis. This includes a take-home Naloxone kit delivery and a support program for those who experienced a non-fatal overdose in a residential setting within 48 to 96 hours after.
“The goal is to make a difference and help people that are seeking to get help in whatever form or shape that takes,” Thomas says. “It’s been a fairly consistent problem since 2016, and it seems to grow every year, which is very unfortunate.”
Although it’s unknown when the programs will be launched, Thomas says they are working towards grants to have the best possible results and resources for the programs.
He says the programs have been in development for around two and a half years, and when the pandemic hit in 2020, they saw an increased need for Naloxone kits in other fire halls.
One of the challenges of these programs, he says is that it’s hard to track data because it’s on a voluntary basis with the individual.
“In the trial, there’s been some really good feedback from people,” he says. “I’m quite positive that we are going to move this program along, it does seem to resonate, that it’s something different.”
However, Livingston says healthcare shouldn’t fall onto the responsibility of the city, and instead, municipalities should be advocating other levels of government for healthcare support needed to save lives.
