"Too many losses": Area First Nation uses new tools to fight opioid addiction
Chief Jason Henry has - first hand - witnessed the loss of community members to the opioid crisis.
He has also offered a shoulder to his children when they’ve lost friends.
“My oldest son has physically lost a friend to addiction already. And many of his peers are stuck in addiction.”
As in many communities, the crisis here has become an urgent situation. It’s impacting multiple generations.
“Really the residential school…That’s what’s playing out today. Those inter-generational traumas are what’s causing this.”
So, Chief Henry and others have decided to take action.
Many of the measures are immediate, including a pop-up drop-in centre.
It is located in front of a former senior’s centre across from the communities car wash.
Henry says each Wednesday at 1 p.m. addiction battling supplies and advice are offered.
This week alone 50 naloxone kits were distributed.
“Those weren’t not just given to those struggling with addictions. They were given family members and community members and others that stopped by. And they were trained on how to deploy naloxone.”
But, the new initiative is not the only one being rolled out or formulated.
Henry met Thursday with Forest Pharmacist Al Ladak.
Before COVID-19, Ladak frequently distributed methadone to those struggling with opioids from Kettle and Stony Point.
But transportation to his Forest Pharmacy ended, leaving his patients struggling to find a ride.
Ladak and Henry want to see funded transportation resume or, better yet, a methadone dispensary created on the First Nation.
“It would make it easier for people to access the services than to getting to the pharmacy and looking for transportation,” Ladak tells CTV News London.
Down the road, Henry says early 2022 has been set as a goal to restart a traditional healing lodge.
The Southwest Regional Healing Lodge was in place at Muncey-Delaware until 2018.
Henry says it’s crucial it restarts - somewhere - to help counter the crisis.
“What we are asking for in the community is every tool in the toolbox. Everything we can possibly do to help effect change when it comes to the opioid crisis.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.