Cree woman who fatally overdosed in Montreal was ‘backbone’ of the community

Lennon Poucachiche says he feels lucky to be alive.

He spent Sunday night in the hospital, after overdosing on what he thought was crack.

“I just smoked that, I didn’t know what I felt,” he said. “I just fell down right away and I was just very very tired.”.

David Conrad-Wabanonik says the experience was unlike anything he’s felt before — adding that he’s learned a big lesson.

Conrad-Wabanonik learned recently that his 42-year-old cousin, Cindy-Marie Wabanonik, died Tuesday, after being in a coma since the weekend.

They were all part of a group of nine people who overdosed on Sunday from what was likely a poisoned supply.

Cindy had once been a resident of the Native Women’s Shelter.

Laura Aguiar, a coordinator of the Iskweu project at the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal, described her as the backbone of the community.

It’s a community that she says is grieving, and one that needs help.

“So many resources in Montreal are not adapted to Indigenous folks, or Indigenous folks who use substances,” said Aguiar. “Which means if you can’t come into a shelter or resource because you’re intoxicated, you go to the streets.”

Cindy’s death has caught the attention of different levels of government who say the drug problem in Quebec needs to be addressed quickly.

“A lot of these people using drugs were in a shelter. A shelter is a good measure for emergency help, but not what they need — that’s not what these people need. They need a roof on top of their head with health support,” said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.

Pierre Parent, who has been working as an intervention worker for three years now, says more needs to be done immediately.

What he’s witnessing, he says, is nothing short of a public health crisis.

“Lately people have been dropping left and right, left and right,” he said. “And it’s known that fentanyl and other toxic substances are in the drugs that used to or should have just been cocaine and whatnot.

“So it’s … very, very concerning and real and urgent.”

1:59 Montreal public health investigates 6 suspected drug overdoses