Six years ago, Dr. Perry Kendall – then Chief Public Health Officer in British Columbia – declared a public health emergency due to the escalating number of overdose deaths in the province.
Speaking recently about the announcement, Kendall said it was “designed to draw public and political attention to the emerging crisis.”
But while he says he has made some progress on the issue, it has not been enough to save thousands of lives from toxic drugs.
“We have seen a shocking, unacceptable and unconscious increase in the number of deaths,” Kendall said.
According to the BC Coroners Service, more than 9,400 people across the province have died from ingesting toxic, illegal drugs in the past six years.
Chief Investigator Lisa Lapoant says that although there are some models – such as self-employed and more deaths among men aged 30 to 59 – victims of the crisis come from all walks of life.
Lapoant says there is a misconception that the only people at risk are regular drug users. In fact, she says, many are first-time or casual users who think they are buying a particular drug just to get something infected with fentanyl or other, even more deadly substances.
“Drugs are indiscriminate,” she said.
“We just see lives being lost month after month, year after year. It’s heartbreaking.”
The victims of the crisis range from teenagers to the elderly and include athletes, musicians and scientists.
On the sixth anniversary of the declaration of the public health crisis, here are the stories of six victims of the toxic drug crisis in BC.
Defender of youth care
Catherine McParland was the Homelessness Manager for Youth Homelessness and the A Way Home Commission on Ending Youth Homelessness. (Jennifer Hrumka / CBC)
Catherine McParland was homeless at 19. A foster child, she lived in 28 different homes before growing out of the system. Despite her difficult beginnings, she continues to earn a master’s degree in leadership in social work.
She then founded A Way Home Kamloops, a program aimed at ending homelessness among young people, and served on a number of councils and advisory committees that sought to help children cope with the same problems she had as she grew up. .
“She had this lasting positivity, which always seemed to me something I would like to have more,” said her friend Amy Peterson. “Honestly, it was a pleasure to watch her grow and bloom.”
On December 5, 2020, McParland was found dead lying on her back on the floor of her home in Kamloops. The medical examiner confirmed that her death was the result of a mixture of fentanyl and etizolam found in her system. She was 33.
The young Flash
Actor Logan Williams was known for his role as the younger version of the main character in the TV show The Flash. (Edison Vjosek / Marliz Williams)
Logan Williams grew up in Coquitlam, but was soon seen around the world.
He began acting at the age of 10 and played the younger version of DC Comics superhero Barry Allen in The Flash on the CW Network, and also starred in Supernatural and When Calls the Heart.
His mother, Marliz Williams, described him as “an energetic child who loves music, acting and sports” before he started using drugs – something he tried to give up but failed to do.
He overdosed on fentanyl while in a group setting on April 2, 2020, days before his 17th birthday.
Vancouver sports writer
Hockey reporter Jason Bochford was the husband and father of three young children. (@ botchford / twitter.com)
Jason Bochford grew up in Aurora, Ont., And began his journalistic career at the Toronto Sun before moving to BC, where he covered the NHL for more than a decade. He wrote for The Province from 2005 to 2018, mixing his analysis of the Vancouver Canucks games with humorous commentary and inner jokes.
He then became a senior writer at The Athletic and appeared frequently on TSN radio and television.
The father of three young children, Bochford died after an accidental overdose of cocaine and fentanyl on April 25, 2019, at the age of 48.
“We were completely shocked and distrustful to find the cause of Jason’s sudden death. The cause does not change who Jason was for all of us, but simply makes his death so much harder to understand,” his wife, Catherine Bochford, wrote at the time.
A 12-year-old girl
Alaya Thomas, 12, is considered the youngest victim of the BC overdose crisis. (News check)
Alaya Thomas was only 11 years old when he began experimenting with drugs. Her family says they tried to get her help, but were told she was too young to qualify for rehabilitation.
Alaya’s mother, Adriana Londono, said she gave birth to a daughter when she was 19 and struggled with her own drug abuse problems, which made it difficult to help her child.
“They didn’t help me with their problems, so I felt like I could help her.” I can’t even help myself, “she said.
Londono called his daughter kind and loving and said she wanted to be a make-up artist when she grew up.
Alaya died on April 14, 2021 after an overdose at the home of friends on Vancouver Island. She was 12.
Amateur boxer
Joe Walker poses with a bear on a walking trip to Cape Scott on Vancouver Island in 2016 (Janice Walker)
Joe Walker returned home to his family home in Victoria just after his 25th birthday, seeking support for his addiction to heroin and crystalline methamphetamine.
His mother, Janice Walker, said she was doing “incredibly well” and working hard to stay drug-free.
A passionate athlete, Walker was an amateur boxer who had tried to heal before.
“He was addressing people. He was just happy to be alive and he felt he had beaten him,” his mother said.
But after finding evidence of heroin and mayhuana in his bedroom, Walker packed his son’s suitcase and told him he had to go if he continued to use it.
“The last words she said to me were, ‘Don’t worry, Mom, I’m not going to die,'” she said.
His body was found in an unfinished garage on December 13, 2017. Toxicological studies confirmed an overdose of fentanyl.
Animal lover
John Butler holds a photo of his daughter Olivia Dalton, who died of a fentanyl overdose in Langley, British Columbia, on November 3, 2020 (Ben Nelms / CBC)
Olivia Dalton loved animals. Her parents say she was kind, generous and fun.
“Everyone who knows her absolutely loved her,” said mother Lisa Dalton.
But her personality changed when she started using heroin at Langley High School, which made her violent and uninterested in the world around her.
Eventually, Olivia agreed to enter into an addiction consultation, which cost the family more than $ 100,000. But Olivia thrived, staying sober for more than a year.
Then the pandemic struck and its group meetings were canceled. She relapsed, lost her job and was soon isolated, using herself in her apartment.
Her body was found there on October 22, 2020.
“My whole world was just crushed at that moment,” said her father, John Butler.
“She was only 21 … She didn’t deserve it.”
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