Drug Poisoning and the Pandemic

Nicole – Using Art and Creativity to Express Grief

Nicole discusses the work she does to allow access to creative outlets such as art hives and gardening.

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.

Christian – Denial and grieving

Christian discusses what happens after members of the community die from drug poisoning and how it’s OK for grief to be messy

Christian – Supporting people who may die

Christian talks about going from zero overdoses to 50 in a matter of months and how to help people who may die

Nicole – Stigma Surrounding Drug Use

Nicole discusses how the stigma around drug use has an impact on how people feel able to grieve when those in their community are lost.

Kristal – Drug Poisoning During Pandemic Stigma

Kristal discusses how the pandemic has created additional stigma surrounding those who use drugs. She dissuses how it seems like some losses are treated as more deserving of being mourned than others. Many people have had to grieve privately instead of publically within a community. She touches on the state of the public health system during the pandemic.

Laura- Loss to Covid & Disconnection

Christian – COVID amplified the inequities in society

Christian talks about those that have very little and how COVID amplified their difficulties

Kristal – Attending Memorials as a Support Worker

Kristal discusses the importance of finding ways to honour people that have been lost and how they have impacted you. She speaks to how she often chooses not to attend public memorials for those she has lost as a support worker as they are often very overwhelming. Instead, she has her own personal rituals or ways of honouring those she has lost personally including opening a window. She discusses how this practice was used when she worked in palliative care.

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

Kate – Triggers

Kate discusses how she deals with her emotions when something triggers her grief