Emotional Memorial Photo at the Saskatchewan Legislature

On August 17, 2020 Saskatchewan MSTH member families gathered at the Regina Legislature for an emotional group photo as , well as striking individual photos to remember loved ones lost to substance use related causes.

The event was organized by Regina member Jenny Churchill and with the support of MSTH board member Marie Agioritis. The photographer for this memorial photo was Nicole Gerhardt, Jenny’s daughter, who’s own experience of losing her brother Jordan, helps her in capturing raw emotion of these grieving mothers.

Media was on sit and Global News shared the report on their Facebook page.

With the upcoming provincial election in Saskatchewan on October 26th these images are a stark reminder that this public health crisis has been ignored by the current government. Advocates call for full funding of harm reduction services, including supervised consumption services (SCS), rapid access to safe supply (pharmaceutical alternatives to toxic street drugs) and to evidence based treatment, as well as an end to the criminalization of people who use drugs.

Tell the government you support the Lethbridge OPS

Please tell the Premier of Alberta and others why you support the Lethbridge Overdose Prevention Society (LOPS), by sending this letter. Replace the text in CAPITAL LETTERS with your information. Please share on social media and with others who support saving lives.

Why do we as families support LOPS and other harm reduction initiatives?

Kym Porter, MSTH advocate and local leader in Medicine Hat, AB, and other MSTh advocates were in Lethbridge for the opening night of the overdose prevention site. Learn what Kym and others experienced and why they were there.

A Friday Night to Remember

By Kym Porter.

MSTH volunteers at LOPS on opening night, setting up our banner. (Photo by: Victoria Nestorowicz)

On Friday, September 25, 2020, my husband, Kevin, and I got in the car and drove a few hours down the road from Medicine Hat to Lethbridge.  The purpose of this trip was like no other one we had ever taken.  We were heading to Galt Park, a beautiful, tree-lined green space in the middle of downtown to meet with two other members of MSTH, those being Lori Hatfield and Kari Urselescu.  The purpose of this meeting was to connect with a group of former staff members of Arches, the newly closed Supervised Consumption Site, the busiest site in North America, seeing over 600 client visits a day, a life-saving site now closed by an ideology based government in Alberta.  We were there to support Tim Slaney and others in setting up the first unsanctioned overdose prevention site in this city, the LOPS.  Lethbridge is a city extremely hard hit by the overdose crisis and the park has been referred to as the new epicenter for PWUD to gather.  The park has now become ‘an unsupervised consumption site.’

As the sun was setting, we met, introduced ourselves, and started to unload the tent and other paraphernalia required to ensure people remain safe and alive while they consume their drugs.  We also brought snacks, juice, and water to hand out. 

Kym Porter talking to media on the opening night of the OPS. (Photo by Victoria Nestorowicz)

The tent was up in no time as was the MSTH banner.  Those of you familiar with the area will know the wind plays a very strong role in deciding how long tents etc remain standing and in this case, it was not long.  The banner, thought to be firmly planted in the ground, blew over just as I was to be interviewed by media.  It was then we decided to relocate the tent.  The banner, however, did not survive and went back into the trunk.

Because we kept the event on the ‘down-low’ we were unsure what to expect.  Tim had contacted a few trusted media outlets (Global TV Lethbridge and CBC) and they filmed the set up as well as the takedown three hours later.  They also interviewed a number of us as to what was the purpose of the OPS and why we felt it was necessary.

MSTH volunteers Lori Hatfield, Lori Vrebosh and Kari Urselescu. Lori came on the second anniversary of her son’s death to hand out harm reduction supplies and snacks together with her family. (Photo supplied by Lori Vrebosh.

The snacks were an immediate hit and were a great way to make an initial connection with people in the park.  We helped fill bellies while making potential clients aware of what we were there for.  After about two hours from our set up, the first client used the tent to safely consume their drugs under the trained, watchful, caring and nonjudgmental eyes of the volunteer staff.  By the end of the evening, 4 people avoided overdose and possible death due to these concerned citizens taking the situation that the government had turned it’s back on, into their own capable, compassionate hands.

Just after eleven pm., we took down the tent and packed it and the supplies away to be set up again the following evening.  The snacks had all disappeared about a half-hour beforehand.  We packed up our vehicles, turned the heat on, and headed to our homes, knowing some of the people we met tonight would be sleeping in the park.

As we drove home and over the course of the past few days, I have reflected on the many different emotions that came during and after this experience.  The predominate feeling to come to me is/was humbleness.  I am in awe of the courage of these former staff to take up this challenge.  I am also filled with gratitude for them, for my fellow MSTH members that sat in the cold and greeted each person with hearts of kindness, for my husband who helped with set up, take down and driving home at one am, for the media present who covered the story objectively, for the people who donated funds to help get this off the ground, for the people who, once learning of this, have stepped up to help and for the people in the park who had no reason to trust us but did.

Setting all of this up involved many people including MSTH co-founder Lorna Thomas and Canadian Drug Policy Alliance worker Shay Vanderschaeghe.   MSTH members Kat Wahama and Traci Letts and long-time drug policy activist Ann Livingston were consultants to the process along with co-founder Petra Schulz who provided support from afar, given she is away in Germany.

The Lethbridge Overdose Prevention Society Tent is a beacon of hope. (Photo by Victoria Nestorowicz)

I am sad about the stories and obvious trauma experienced by so many who stopped by.  Of course, I am sad for the lives lost so needlessly…but mainly, I am mad, no not mad, outraged!  I am outraged at a government ignoring evident based facts.  I am outraged at a government making decisions based on ideology and getting votes.  I am outraged at their coldheartedness.  I am confused and frustrated.  I know I am not alone by the support, sometimes silent, sometimes organizational in helping pull this off. 

This is not a one time only event.  The goal is to continue offering an OPS until it is not needed.  I would hope that day would be today however it is far off in the distance.  We will keep showing up because it is the kind, right thing to do.

Snacks are harm reduction. Kym Porter, Kari Urselescu, and Lori Hatfield on opening night (left to right). (Photo by Victoria Nestorowicz)

Petition for Urgent Action on the Overdose Crisis

Time to send a message to the Federal Government

In the upcoming months, Moms Stop The Harm members and allies will intensify our work towards ending overdose deaths and injuries by urging the Government of Canada to take action and to do things differently.

Specifically, we will ask the Government of Canada to declare the overdose crisis a national public health emergency and:

• Immediately collaborate with provinces and territories to develop a comprehensive, pan-Canadian overdose action plan.

• Ensure that any plan considers reforms that other countries have used, such as legal regulation of drugs to ensure safe supply, decriminalization for personal use, and changes to flawed drug policy and policing.

• Ensure this emergency is taken seriously with adequately funded programming and supports.

Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the overdose crisis is one of the most devastating public health emergencies our country has faced in a century. And it is time for the federal government to do more. 

MSTH has developed a new tool to help our members and supporters to increase political pressure on the federal government to do more:

A paper Petition and Sample Letter to Your Member of Parliament (MP): Petitions are a good way to show we have support. Government representatives will not be able to help but notice when our petition is read in the House of Commons day after day. MPs will be forced, in a small way, to bear witness to the overdose crisis and hopefully respond with new and improved measures. We also hope the petition will nudge MPs to take informed positions on drug policy issues in the upcoming election.

While paper petitions may seem old school, they have more strengths than parliamentary online petitions.  Online petitions can only be signed for a short period of time and are presented by one MP. Paper petitions can be presented by many MPs and signed until there is an election.

How you can help:

Step one: Download and print the Petition. Please get family, friends and allies to sign our petition. You’ll need a minimum of 25 signatures (Note: A couple of extra signatures always helps in case someone has not properly completed the petition).

Step two:  Send the signed MSTH petition(s), along with a Covering Letter, to your MP, or another MP if you prefer. Copy, paste and customize the letter. You can get your MP’s contact information by calling 1-800-463-6868 or going to https://www.ourcommons.ca/en. Remember a) mail to MPs is postage free and b) MPs are there to help you with matters like this. It’s their job.

Step three: Call your MP in a couple of weeks if you haven’t heard anything and ask if she or he will be presenting your petition in the House of Commons. What is said in the House of Commons is documented in the Hansard Index, which will allow us to track the progress our our petitions. Please let us know if your MP is reluctant to do so, as we can help you find an MP who supports our cause.  You can reach us at info [at] momsstoptheharm.com.

We have also added a video link below to help you with instructions and how to submit the paper petition.

MSTH greatly appreciates your help with the petitions in order to bring the overdose crisis closer to the forefront of the government’s agenda, where it belongs. 

Lives depend on it!

This webinar explains how you can be part of a campaign to ask the Government of Canada to declare the overdose crisis a national public health emergency. Th...

Hundreds of Albertans Call on Jason Kenny to Save Canceled Treatment Program

Call to Maintain Funding for Alberta’s Injectable Opioid Agonist Treatment Clinics

The injection room of the iOAT program in Edmonton. This highly effective program is slated to close in March 2020.

An open letter to the Government of Alberta Honourable Jason Kenney, Premier

Cc: Honourable Tyler Shandro, Minister of Health, Alberta Honourable Jason Luan, Associate Minister for Mental Health and Addictions David Shepherd, MLA, Opposition Critic for Health Heather Sweet, MLA, Opposition Critic for Mental Health and Addictions Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Chief Medical Officer of Health Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, Canada

Dear Premier Kenney,

We, the undersigned are a group of Albertan patients, families, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, counsellors, peer workers, academics, and concerned citizens of the province. We are writing to express our grave concerns with your government’s decision to discontinue funding for Edmonton and Calgary’s injectable opioid agonist treatment (iOAT) programs after March 2021. Many of us have experience providing iOAT. Some of us and our families have directly benefited from receiving this life-saving treatment. All of us understand the need for iOAT as part of the full spectrum of care for people as they recover from the impacts of opioid use disorders and have been encouraged by the remarkable health and social benefits of this treatment to the people who receive it, to their families, and to the community at large.

While much of the health care system’s attention has turned towards protecting Albertans through the global COVID-19 pandemic, we also recognize that people at risk of severe adverse outcomes from substance use disorders are at the intersection of both the pandemic and the opioid overdose crisis which continues to exact its toll on communities across Canada. Alberta remains one of the hardest hit provinces with close to two people dying daily as a result of accidental opioid poisoning (1) and reports of increasing EMS calls for overdose (2) and the re-emergence of carfentanil in the drug supply3 make us concerned that this crisis has worsened over recent months. At this time more than any before, we must offer all evidence-based treatments to patients. The decision to discontinue funding to iOAT makes this option inaccessible for Albertans who may seek help as the programs are no longer able to accept new patients. Those who are currently benefiting from this treatment will be forced off of it in the coming months and many of these individuals may suffer severe adverse outcomes as a result.

In September 2019, the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse (CRISM) published National Guidelines on iOAT for Opioid Use Disorder. National experts thoroughly reviewed scientific evidence to develop these guidelines which were subject to expert peer review. The guidelines are clear: iOAT is a necessary treatment option for individuals with severe injection opioid use disorders that have not responded to other treatments (4). Benefits demonstrated through scientific study include reduced illicit opioid use, improved retention in treatment and health care, reduced criminal involvement and incarceration, reduced mortality, and improved overall health and social functioning (5-8). Furthermore, studies in both Europe and Canada have consistently proven that iOAT is cost effective given the significant reductions in criminal activity (9-11) and hospitalizations (12) with their associated costs.

The National Guideline on iOAT for Opioid Use Disorder is also clear that iOAT should not be discontinued while a patient continues to benefit from treatment. Decisions to transition to other treatment options should only be made in collaboration with the patient and based on thorough risk-benefit assessments. Discontinuing funding for the programs removes that opportunity and forces their health care providers to practice against national expert guidance. Patients who have developed trusting relationships with these programs will be disengaged once again and many may not avail themselves of other treatments that have failed them before. These prospects are tragic as patients will be at tremendous risk of destabilization and related harms, including overdose mortality.

The iOAT programs in Edmonton and Calgary are benchmarks of what an intensive, multidisciplinary, and comprehensive addiction treatment program can offer for individuals at critical periods in the trajectory of their recovery. Their patients have access to not only life-saving medication treatment from physicians and nurse practitioners but are also supported in their recovery by peer workers, mental health resources, social workers, nurses, pharmacists, and primary care. Albertans can be proud of what these clinics have accomplished and the positive impacts on their communities. With ongoing support and funding, they could no doubt continue to thrive, support recovery, and offer hope to highly vulnerable patients. Premier, please do not end this evidence-based, cost effective treatment in Alberta. We call on the Government of Alberta to reverse its decision to discontinue funding to the Edmonton and Calgary Injectable Opioid Agonist Treatment Clinics and to continue to support this critical treatment option for Albertans.

Sincerely,

References:

1. Health, Government of Alberta, June 2020, Alberta Opioid Response Surveillance Report: Q1 2020. https://www.alberta.ca/opioid-reports.aspx

2. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/drug-users-warned-of-dangers-after-spike-in-opioid-related-ems-calls-in-edmonton-1.5600260

3. https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/spike-in-carfentanil-deaths-opioid-overdoses-in-edmonton-prompts-health-warning

4. Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse (CRISM). National Injectable Opioid Agonist Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder Clinical Guideline. Published September 23, 2019. https://crism.ca/projects/ioat-guideline/

5. Ferri M, Davoli M, Perucci CA. Heroin maintenance for chronic heroin-dependent individuals. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2011(12). 10.1002/14651858.CD003410.pub4

6. Strang J, Groshkova T, Uchtenhagen A, et al. Heroin on trial: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials of diamorphine-prescribing as treatment for refractory heroin addiction. The British Journal of Psychiatry. 2015;207(1):5-14. 10.1192/bjp.bp.114.149195

7. Oviedo-Joekes E, Guh D, Brissette S, et al. Hydromorphone compared with diacetylmorphine for long-term opioid dependence: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry. 2016;73(5):447-455. 10.1001/ jamapsychiatry.2016.0109

8. Oviedo-Joekes E, Brissette S, Marsh DC, et al. Diacetylmorphine versus Methadone for the Treatment of Opioid Addiction. New England Journal of Medicine. 2009;361(8):777-786. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa0810635

9. Nosyk B, Guh DP, Bansback NJ, et al. Cost-effectiveness of diacetylmorphine versus methadone for chronic opioid dependence refractory to treatment. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne. 2012;184(6):E317-328. 10.1503/cmaj.110669

10. Byford S, Barrett B, Metrebian N, et al. Cost-effectiveness of injectable opioid treatment v. oral methadone for chronic heroin addiction. The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science. 2013;203(5):341-349. 10.1192/bjp.bp.112.111583

11. Byford S, Barrett B, Metrebian N, et al. Cost-effectiveness of injectable opioid treatment v. oral methadone for chronic heroin addiction. The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science. 2013;203(5):341-349. 10.1192/bjp.bp.112.111583

12. Bansback N, Guh D, Oviedo-Joekes E, et al. Cost-effectiveness of hydromorphone for severe opioid use disorder: findings from the SALOME randomized clinical trial. Addiction. 2018;113(7):1264-1273. 10.1111/ add.14171

Supervised Consumption Sites under attack - "The impact will be death. There's no other way to put that," says Lori Hatfield, mom and MSTH advocate.

I belong to a peer group that provides me with love, support and understanding that I have not been able to find through other means, including professionals, family and friends. It is a group that no one wants to belong to and we wish you weren’t here. I belong to Moms Stop The Harm which is an advocacy group that wants to change failed drug policies by decriminalizing and providing safe supply. They also provide support to those families that have been impacted by substance use related harms and deaths.

As we close another summer and held events throughout the country and world for #IOAD2020 (International Overdose Awareness Day), it’s a time to reflect on where we are and how far we have come.

I’m very sad to say that in my home province of Alberta, we are moving backwards. Our current United Conservative Party (UCP) government only supports abstinence-based recovery. They are opposed to harm reduction and have stopped funding to our supervised consumption service (SCS) in Lethbridge. Under the name ARCHES, they operated 8 vital programs:

•         Supervised Consumption Services

•         Needle Debris Hotline (collecting discarded needles throughout the city)

•         Virtual Opioid Dependency (VOD) Program

•         Justice Services

•         Mic Club (listen to IOAD “Help Me”)

•         COAP (Community Outreach Addictions Program)

•         Take Home Naloxone

•         Urban Spirits Nursing Clinic

These services are no longer available to our most vulnerable population. Their reason for closing was due to an alleged misappropriation of funds. While nothing has been proven yet, the UCP government, under the leadership of Jason Kenney, could have implemented new management while still keeping the services available. But instead, our government chose to make his voter base happy and closed the site on August 31st - the same day recognized at Overdose Awareness Day. Coincidence, or irony? You be the judge. The fact that they closed a vital service that kept people alive, that saw 600-800 people a day access one of their 8 services, that never had one fatality and took the pressure off our EMS and emergency hospital services is mind-boggling to so many.

On the same day of the Lethbridge SCS closing, a breaking news story announced the approval, by Jason Luan (the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addiction), of thousands of dollars in expenses for the SCS Review Panel that travelled Alberta last fall. Approval of prime rib dinners, alcohol and hotel rooms that were never used – this appears to be okay with our UCP government.

There has been much divisiveness in our community and other communities in Alberta regarding harm reduction. For me, harm reduction is not the issue. Rather the lack of services we have in our city and amongst other cities is where the real issue lies! In Lethbridge, ARCHES pretty much stood alone as services available to people living with addiction, they operated 24/7; 365 days a year. They were there for people when they needed someone. How many of our other services operate 8-5; Mon-Fri. I’m sorry, most crises happen on weekends or after hours; we have to have experts in the field be available to people when that window of opportunity opens and that’s not always going to happen between 8-5; Mon-Fr.

We, the people that have loved ones in addiction or that have died from overdose, have done the research – we live it night and day – it is with us 24/7. We know or are aware of the experts in the field that have done the schooling – more importantly, many of us have walked the path of and with someone living with addiction and have witnessed the barriers that are heaped one on top of the other for someone with this disease. Never in my life have a seen such chaos and senseless policies! Policies that make it nearly impossible for some with addiction to overcome. No other government programming operates like this.

Someone looking for help is expected to do many things depending on their choice of recovery. Here are just a few of the barriers. I have gone through each of these with my son while searching for help. These barriers are infuriating!

• Looking to go to treatment – first go to detox; there will be a wait to get in (but hang on to that thought of sobriety while you’re waiting days/weeks)

• You’ve been to detox – YEA!!! Hold on, there’s a waiting list for treatment; could take up to 30 days, maybe more (but make sure you call us EVERYDAY and let us know you’re still sober). Hmmmm don’t have a phone, well that could be a problem – how will you call us everyday; how will we call you and let you know a bed is available?

• Oh you’ve decided on Methadone or Suboxone – both good choices! Now, whaaat – I have to go to the pharmacy way across town (as not every pharmacy is allowed to dispense a narcotic) EVERYDAY, personally to get my prescription given to me! I have to wait, and hopefully the pharmacist isn’t judgmental and makes me wait even longer on purpose as I’m supposed to be at work right now. 

• I’m on Methadone, great now I have to do a pee test – oh I failed – you’re cancelling my methadone prescription – where does that leave me – back to finding toxic supply I guess. It was just a slip – I had a moment where I just slipped, please don’t cut me off my prescription! (how many other prescriptions are out there for some other kind of addiction but not monitored or treated with such discrimination as drug addiction).

These are just a few of the barriers that I have witnessed with my son. I’m a pretty strong-willed woman and I have intervened on some of the above issues for my son. I haven’t gotten very far either, but I will stand up and make a fuss if necessary, like at the pharmacy when they had us sit there for almost 30 minutes while there was NO ONE else at the pharmacy counter! How many of our vulnerable population will stand up to situations like this, or they may try but then will be asked to leave the store.

The discrimination and stigma faced by people who live with addiction and their families has got to change! It just has too. Trust us, we know “Addiction Doesn’t Discriminate”. There is a very good possibility it has already sunk it’s ugly teeth somewhere into your family – maybe you know about, maybe you don’t. Just know, even though we don’t want you to be a part of this group – we will always be here for you and will love and support you unconditionally through all your pain, heartbreak, successes and hurdles.

Lori Hatfield, Lethbridge, AB

Protesters stage 'die-in' outside Lethbridge City Hall against supervised consumption site closure