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43 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,N ovem ber 26,2020 theifp.ca FULL-SERVICE RETIREMENT HOME 905-877-1800 222 Mountainview Road North, Georgetown www.mountainviewresidence.com You've worked hard to enjoy retirement, now it's our pleasure to make this the best time of your life in a family, friendly atmosphere. Mountainview Residence Of Georgetown In-house physiotherapy team, Aqua-Fit and gentle chair yoga. On-site activities include multiple movie nights weekly, various card games (for the novice and the experienced), ice cream days, pet therapy. Along with personal care and services to support independence. Our residents share full service meals in our updated dining room. overdose and death." While an increase in overdoses is one impact drug trafficking can have on a community, it is defi- nitely not the only one. Foley noted people who become addicted to drugs need to be able to fund this expensive habit. He said this need for money can lead to an in- crease in break-ins to homes, businesses and ve- hicles within the commu- nity. Desperate people in search of money and drugs can also turn to human trafficking, Foley said. When it comes to com- bating drug trafficking in Halton, Foley said there is no simple solution. "What I can say is en- forcement alone is not the key," he said. "We honestly believe it is a mixture or balance be- tween enforcement, inter- vention strategies and harm reduction." Foley said Halton police are working with the Hal- ton Region's Health De- partment, Halton Alcohol, Drug and Gambling As- sessment Prevention and Treatment Services, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Reach Out Centre for Kids, local pharmacies and physi- cians to develop a strategy addressing the issues of il- licit use and misuse of opioids in the community. The Halton detective said educating youth in schools continues to be an important focus and the Halton police Community Partners for Healthy Liv- ing program continues to see officers enter elemen- tary schools and high schools and provide drug- related education to local students. "If we can educate the youth at a young age then we can hopefully prevent substance abuse as they grow into their late teens and early 20s," said Foley. In recent months, Hal- ton police have also worked to curb the danger of opioid overdose through messaging campaigns aimed at getting drug users to avoid using alone. Officers have also worked to encourage someone who witnesses an overdose to not run but call 911, noting Ontario's Good Samaritan Act protects the caller from prosecution. Other initiatives in- clude raising alerts in the event of: • a cluster of overdoses (6-12) within a 48-hour time period; • overdoses and/or drug seizures featuring counter- feit or contaminated drugs; and • a cluster of overdoses at a single location (e.g. a school). Front-line officers have also been carrying nalox- one, which reverses the ef- fects of an opioid overdose, for about two years now. All these measures ap- pear to have had an impact with the number of opioid- related deaths in Halton dropping dramatically from 44 in 2018 to just 15 be- tween January and Sep- tember of 2019. Police are not the only ones with a perspective on how to combat dangerous drugs and drug trafficking in Halton. Mikaela (last name with- held) of the Oakville youth support group Resiliency 4 Recovery (R4R) also weighed in, noting that while education is an im- portant part of reducing drug use, a better approach would be for the youths to hear from someone closer to their own age who has experienced drug addiction and can communicate the impact it had on their life. Mikaela struggled with opioid addiction for years after her boyfriend intro- duced her to drugs at age 16. She was eventually able to kick her habit, but not before she was kicked out of her family home for stealing. The boyfriend who in- troduced her to opioids died of an overdose. "I also think legislation around more safe injection sites and legalization of all drugs could make a signif- icant difference," said Mi- kaela. "Fentanyl has been and continues to be a fatal drug that is killing many people. A lot of the time people don't even know it is in their drug supply. If a safe supply of opiates were available for people strug- gling, it could prevent a lot of overdoses." Foley noted the legaliza- tion of marijuana has yet to eliminate the black market for that drug in Halton but he acknowledged it did de- crease the size of that mar- ket. He also noted that drug arrests in Halton went down dramatically from 717 in 2018 to 209 in 2019, some- thing Foley said is directly related to the implementa- tion of new cannabis legisla- tion. Foley would not com- ment on the pros or cons of legalizing other drugs. Mikaela argued the problem of drug addiction needs to be treated as a health problem rather than a legal one. NEWS Continued from page 42 DRUG ADDICTION OFTEN LEADS TO CRIME: FOLEY Cancer doesn't stop for COVID and neither does Cancer Assistance Services CAShh - 2020 Association of the Year CAShh is proud and grateful to have been awarded the 2020 Association Of The Year Cancer Assistance Services 222 Mountainview Road North, Georgetown, ON L7G 3R2 Phone 905-702-8886 • Email: helphope@cancerassistance.org cancerassistance.org Charitable Org #898404918 RR0001 Cancer Assistance Services of Halton Hills is a community-based organization of volunteers in Halton Hills. Our mission is to provide support and hope to cancer patients, family and friends. CAShh was established in 2000 in response to the closure of the Canadian Cancer Society Office in Georgetown. CAShh quickly grew to an organization of over 250 volunteers and a small staff team. As a charitable organization, we rely on the generous support of donors, volunteers and the community at large. Since our inception, we have continued to provide and expand our services through the financial support raised from community events, CAShh fundraisers and the kindness of those who remember CAShh through bequests. Our services reflect the needs of those who seek our help. Our aim is to listen, to provide support and practical help to clients, their families and friends. We move forward with hope, kindness and determination to help our clients through cancer treatments. All of the services provided are at no charge to the clients. Thank you to the community of Halton Hills for your kind support through your generous donations, and thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers for your time and commitment.