Oceanside event highlighting local lives lost to drug toxicity

Baird said there are an estimated 150 people in the Oceanside area alone living unhoused, with hundreds more in surrounding communities.

Housing stability has a considerable connection to substance use, Baird said.

“When you’re cold, it’s night, you’re alone, and there’s no solution, very often people will turn to drugs because they just don’t know what else to do. Everything is inextricably linked…there is no single answer. There are many, many, many answers, and we try to tackle them all.”

A candlelight vigil and walk from the event to the nearby Legacy Labyrinth on the Parksville waterfront is expected to happen around 6 p.m.

Demonstrations on Naloxone use are also planned throughout the event.

Baird said there is a common misconception regarding who is a victim of the drug toxicity crisis, with many in the community believing the only ones impacted are street entrenched.

Data shows a majority of deaths every month on the Island and across B.C. occur in working-age men.

“The average age of people who die [in Oceanside] is 57, so it’s by no means the young people who are experimenting with drugs, they die too, but they’re by no means the primary demographic.”

He encourages everyone to attend Saturday’s event to learn more about how to help in an overdose situation or to volunteer with the organization.

More details on the organization are available through their website.

International Overdose Awareness Day is Monday, Aug. 31, with the Nanaimo Community Action Team planning a similar event at Diana Krall Plaza.

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by Alex Rawnsley

Oceanside event highlighting local lives lost to drug toxicity

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