Drug Poisoning and the Pandemic

Nicole – Pandemic’s Effect on Grieving as a Community

Nicole discusses the ways the pandemic has affected the way people grieve as a community.

Nicole – Pandemic’s Effect on Safe Spaces and Mental Health Access

Nicole discusses how the pandemic affected access to safe spaces and shelters for those living rough and living with addiction.

Kristal – Harm Reduction

Kristal speaks to the importance of harm reduction and how it can save lives. She discusses how accessing harm reduction leads to the creation of connections with community support. It allows community outreach members to connect with community members and get to know them, and to know to look for them if they don’t see them when they usually do.

Kate – Trust and listening

Kate – explains how having someone you trust is super important so that you can have a space space to go to

Christian – Grieving spaces

Christian talks grieving spaces and people coming together when grieving

Laura- Loss to Covid & Disconnection

Kristal – Story of Lived Experience

Kristal discusses experiencing homelessness at multiple stages of her life and how that informs her work as a peer support worker. It gives her an understanding of the nuance that surrounds the community. She uses this experience to support people who are experiencing grief related to death from drug poisoning.

Joyce -The pandemics impact on drug poisonings

Joyce talks about drug poisonings during the pandemic

Kate – Miracle baby

Kate shares about her brothers daughter being born after he had died

Kristal – Activism To Ease Anger and Grief

Kristal discusses using activism to help ease or channel her anger from the loss of those in her community to drug poisoning. She talks about her grief being very quiet and inward before, but that taking action helps her to move through it. She discusses how there may not be peace from these losses, but the goal should rather be feeling safe in the emotions.

Kate – Advice to my younger self

Kate explains things being authentic and honest to herself has been very valuable

Christian – Grieving the whole person

Christian talks about how we choose remember people when there has been a loss to drug poisoning