Kitchener couple who use drugs fight stigma on International Overdose Awareness Day

A couple from Kitchener are  advocating for more harm reduction measures like supervised consumption sites ahead of this year's International Overdose Awareness Day on Saturday.

Partly because both Jenny and Johnny know what it's like to watch someone they know overdose.

Jenny herself has overdosed. The couple has also been to funerals for their friends who have overdosed. CBC has agreed not to publish the couple's last names.

"I was looking at our calendar the other day," Jenny said. "It'll be the two-year anniversary of at least two of our friends — they died within a week and then I had a friend die about a few weeks before."

The funerals happened one right after the other.

"It was just boom boom boom kind of thing," she said.

Jenny and Johnny are from Kitchener. They both use drugs and are advocates for supervised consumption and treatment sites in Waterloo region.

Witnessing an overdose

International Overdose Awareness Day will be marked across Ontario on Saturday, raising awareness of overdoses, trying to reduce the stigma of drug-related death and recognize what the families of people who died from overdoses go through.

It's also a chance to remind people about the Good Samaritan Act, which protects people who try to help a person in distress, Johnny says.

The act provides "some legal protection for people who experience or witness an overdose and call 911 or their local emergency number for help," Health Canada says on its website.

That includes protection from charges for possession of a controlled substance or breach of condition charges, such as probation or parole.

Watching people OD worse than experiencing one

For Jenny, watching someone overdose is far worse than overdosing herself.

"Loved ones, friends in your lives, you are watching them die second by second by second. They are turning grey or blue," she said. "You feel like any mistake that you might make will be it, and it'll be your fault and you'll never see them again."

She says it's overwhelming and traumatizing to watch someone overdose.

"Most drug users already, we're using drugs to cope with trauma, to cope with a lot of things and then to have to add saving people's lives and your loved ones [and] friends lives on top of that, and the concern that you might not do it properly, is just one too many burdens to add," she says.

SCS set to open in Kitchener

Both Jenny and Johnny have spoken at regional council, advocating for supervised consumption sites.

Johnny says he doesn't understand the pushback against the sites from members of the community. He says it's a "necessary, life-saving, health-care intervention."

Kitchener's interim supervised consumption site is set to open in September with plans for the permanent site to open in early 2020.

Cambridge is still in talks to find a location for a site.

The most recent report to the region's community service's committee from public health officials noted the city supports moving forward with a site.

Now, the city has set up a community wellbeing advisory committee that will work with a professional facilitator to help find a site.

On Friday, public health officials said there are no further updates to the meetings in Cambridge.

Listen to the interview with Jenny and Johnny. Warning: The interview discusses drug use:

'I buried 8 friends'

As of Aug. 24, Waterloo region's paramedics responded to 818 overdose-related calls. That's according to the Waterloo Region Integrated Drugs Strategy's overdose monitoring report.

There were 853 calls in all of 2018.

As of Aug. 2, the number of suspected overdose deaths in Waterloo region was at 46. In 2018, it was 53 and in 2017, it was 86.

Johnny says 2017 was a bad year.

"In 2017, I buried eight friends," he said.

At 32, he says he's made it longer than other members of his "crew."

"I've talked to people about how I don't go to so many funerals these days as if it's like a positive thing. It's not. I've just run out of friends," he said.

Recognizing warning signs

The Canadian Mental Health Association lists on its website the signs and symptoms of overdose can help prevent death and injury.

For opioids and depressants, some warning signs include:

• Unresponsiveness or unconsciousness
• Passing out or a "slumped over" posture
• Shallow or irregular breathing, or no breathing at all
• Slowed heart rate or absence of a pulse
• Choking or gurgling sounds
• Purple lips and fingernails
• Clammy skin
• Low body temperature
• Vomiting
• Seizures
• Loss of coordination

For amphetamines or stimulants, some warning signs include:

• Tremors and muscle twitches
• Hot, flushed, or sweaty skin
• Headaches
• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing
• Hostile or violent disposition
• Uncontrolled movements or seizures
• Panic, paranoia, or symptoms of psychosis
• Confusion or disorientation

An overdose is a medical emergency that requires immediate medical attention.

Always call an ambulance or 911 if you suspect someone has overdosed.