Canada's worsening opioid crisis was the focus of a community information session in Windsor.
The Downtown Mission hosted an information fair Friday in observance of International Overdose Awareness Day. The Mission invited a host of community groups and non-profit organizations to meet with the Mission's clients and the public in an effort to raise awareness of the ongoing opioid problem and how to keep drug overdoses from happening.
Michelle Nicodemo, the Mission's director of programs and services, tells BlackburnNewsWindsor.com that the purpose of the information fair is to educate people on the consequences of opioid use and provide ideas on where people affected by them can get help.
"So what are some resources if you are struggling? What are some grief supports? What about addiction programming?" said Nicodemo. "Basically we're bringing the all of the community knowledge of those programs to the Mission so that we have a one-stop shop for people to seek out those resources."
Groups such as the AIDS Committee of Windsor, New Beginnings, House of Sophrosyne, and the Street Health Hepatitis C Team were among those participating in the information fair.
These groups were available to talk to people about addiction services and how to prevent overdoses, as well as provide guidance on naloxone and how to properly use naloxone kits to help someone who has overdosed. According to the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, overdoses are a worsening issue locally. In a report released by the health unit in March, emergency room visits for those who have overdosed on opioids more than tripled between 2003 and 2015. In 2015, there were 24 opioid-related deaths in the county, 19 in Windsor alone.
Nicodemo said she has seen the toll opioid use has taken on some of the Mission's clients.
"It's sad," said Nicodemo. "With the different street drugs out there right now, oftentimes people don't know exactly what they're taking. What they might think is a pill of morphine could possibly be fentanyl."
A highlight of the information fair was a ceremonial tree-planting, to remember those who have died of drug overdoses, some of whom had been clients at the Mission. Nicodemo said it's important that these people, many of whom are couch-surfing or homeless, are remembered.
The tree will be near the Downtown Mission's Victoria St. headquarters.
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