With 2023 overdose numbers now here, Saskatchewan continues to battle extremely high numbers.
According to the Saskatchewan Coroner’s Office, in 2023 there were 291 confirmed overdose deaths and 193 suspected. As the office works to confirm the deaths, the total could reach nearly 500. In 2022, there were 356 confirmed overdose deaths.
For some advocates, treatment centres are one of the best ways to help solve the drug addiction crisis the province finds itself in.
Wait times, however, are a major issue depending on whether the centre is provincially or privately operated.
Possibilities Recovery Centre in Saskatoon, for example, is a provincially owned facility with wait times that range from two days to two weeks depending on availability.
Prairie Sky Recovery is a privately owned facility in Wilkie, Sask., with a minimal wait time. But according to CEO Jacqueline Hoffman, they must overcome the stigma of profiteering.
“Really, that couldn’t be further from the truth,” Hoffman said. “I think there’s enough room in this province for all levels of care and that private care is something that needs to be looked at with a different lens, as being an appropriate avenue for who have the means or employment.”
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She said one of the biggest misconceptions for addictions and overdoses is that it only occurs among people living on the street or the most vulnerable.
“I find that the people who I know who have overdosed are actually 30- to 50-year-olds who are employed,” Hoffman said. “They’re married and they’re overdosing in their basement, in their garage or in their bathroom because they have been hiding their addiction from their family and from their employer.”
Queen City Wellness Pharmacy’s Sarah Kozusko helps find treatment centres for those in need but says it can take weeks to find an opening.
Once someone is through treatment, however, the job isn’t finished.
“If somebody goes away to treatment and then they’re going back to the streets afterwards, then how are we going to maintain recovery?” Kozusko said. “We need to have on ramps and off ramps.”
She suggests a big first step is addressing homelessness, as people will turn back to drugs if they are forced to live on the street once they go through recovery.
“If you don’t have a place to stay when you are desperate, how are we going to get people sober and healthy?” Kozusko said.
Last year the province announced its action plan for mental health and addictions. Included in the plan are adding 500 new addictions treatment spaces over the next five years, through new facilities and increasing the number of beds at current facilities.
Lumsden, Sask., can expect a new facility in the coming years, while places like Saskatoon and North Battleford can expect an increase in facility beds and spaces.
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