Drug Poisoning and the Pandemic

Kate – Getting support

Kate talks about how difficult it is to ask for support

Kate – Things I do that help

Kate talks about how art, hiking and visiting the cemetery can be very therapeutic

Christian – My process in grieving

Christian explains his grieving process and how it’s important to let people in, the power of community, and having a team that makes him feel loved and cared for

Christian – Language around those pushed to the margins

Christian talks about how people who are pushed to the margins are not discussed as part of our community and how we need to include them. As a community how do we care for our neighbours and how do we mourn the loss of our neighbours

Kate – My story

Kate tells her story of being away when her brother died of an opioid overdose

Kristal – Grieving the Whole Person

Kristal discusses the importance of recognizing and grieving the entire person who was lost – not just who they were before they had been using drugs.

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

Kristal – Poetry, Comedy, & Art for Grieving

Kristal discusses using poetry and other forms of creative expression as a distraction from her grief and to disassociate in a safe and productive way. She discusses grief being love with nowhere to go, so she puts it into art.

Christian – Grieving spaces

Christian talks grieving spaces and people coming together when grieving

Nicole – Pandemic Leads to Increase in Drug Poisoning

Nicole discusses the increase in drug poisonings during the pandemic due to a number of factors.

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.

Christian – Autonomy for the homeless

Christian discusses those who are unhoused and how they want a space that is theirs and how we need to take that seriously especially when it comes to grief