‘It could be anybody’s child’: Christmas tree at KGH draws attention to opioid crisis

Members of ‘Moms Stop the Harm’ set up a Christmas tree at Kelowna General Hospital on Friday morning.

On the tree are pictures and names of loved ones who died from poisoned drugs.

The white and purple “Tree of Hope” is meant to raise awareness of the opioid crisis and combat the stigma of drug dependence that can make it harder for people to seek help.

“We just hope to bring some awareness that the opioid crisis is actually a medical emergency. What better place to show that than in a medical facility,” said Helen Jennens with Moms Stop the Harm.

“We want people to recognize that drug harm can happen to anybody. It could be anybody’s child. We work really hard on prevention and awareness so that kids don’t die.”

Jennens lost two sons to poisoned drugs, in 2011 and 2016, and says it’s devastating to see new faces and names added to the tree each year.

“Every new ball that goes on the tree we know is a heartbroken family,” said Jennens.

Interior Health medical health officer Dr. Silvina Mema said tackling stigma is an essential part of addressing the overdose crisis.

“There is a widespread belief that people who are dying of overdose are making a choice to use substances and it is really up to them to find ways to recover and to avoid using illicit substances. People need to understand that that is not true. In many situations the use of drugs is not a choice. it is a motivation that is driven by the circumstances of that individual and that situation in their life,” said Mema.

The Christmas tree is going up as B.C. records its worst month ever for illicit drug deaths.

On Thursday, the provincial coroner’s service released numbers showing there were 201 illicit drug deaths in October — 23 were in the Okanagan.

In the first ten months of this year, 60 people died in Kelowna and 33 in Vernon. That’s more drug deaths than Vernon has seen in a single year any time in the past decade.

“Until we have a system of recovery in place, we need to provide a safer supply and stop people from dying because a dead person cannot recover.”

Mema points out Interior Health has a program to offer injectable opioid agonist treatment (iOAT).

“That is a way of accessing drugs that will not result in a poisoning or with the uncertainty of what … is in that supply,” Mema said.

Jennens said, if widely available, iOAT can function as a safe supply but points out some Lower Mainland patients have been provided access to prescription heroin.

In July, the province announced that it would be phasing in a prescribed safer supply policy.

Between March 2020 and October 2021, 1,590 people in the Interior have received medication under the first phase of the province’s safe supply program, the province said.

“Interior Health, along with the all other health authorities, is currently implementing the second phase of the safe supply plan within their region. We will have more information to share on this in the new year,” the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions said in a statement.