Okanagan communities are receiving thousands of dollars to bring local groups, the health authority and government officials to the table to address the overdose crisis.
The provincial government is giving Kelowna, Vernon and 16 other communities around B.C. up to $100,000 each to create a community action team.
“It’s locally driven. It’s boots on the ground. It’s trying to figure out how is Kelowna unique, and what can we do to combat this situation,” Candice Berry, Living Positive Resource Centre’s executive director, said.
“What we’re seeing right now is predominantly males between the ages of 30 and 49 who are using alone in their homes,” Berry said, adding that it can be a struggle to reach that group.
“We do know that the supervised consumption site and the overdose prevention site are saving lives. It’s how are we going to combat the ones that we aren’t reaching,” she said.
The Okanagan’s overdose death rate, at 40.8 deaths per 100,000 people last year, was second only to Vancouver, at 52.8 deaths per 100,000.
In 2017, 75 people died in Kelowna, which is 28 more than in 2016.
Meanwhile, Kamloops saw the number of overdose deaths drop from 44 in 2016 to 39 last year.
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Interior Health Authority’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Karin Goodison, said Kamloops has already established some collaborative efforts and found some innovative solutions that other places will look at.
“They’re addressing getting someone into treatment very quickly, so contacting people when they arrive in care,” she said.
“They have somebody in their emergency room to meet people who have overdosed, and help triage them into the care stream immediately, so it’s a warm handoff,” she said, noting that it helps address substance abuse issues.
The provincial money could be spent filling service gaps in the community, she said.
“For example, if you felt that you needed another person to work at a harm reduction agency, you could consider funding a position there,” Goodison said.
The government will also be investing $6 million in innovative community-based solutions for 2018-19 and 2019-20 as part of its three-year $322-million plan.
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