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NEWS g 8 s & sg g 2 § 2 3 « Continued from page 1 z. 8 with 30. = In total, overdoses < claimed the lives of 41 peo- A ple in Halton in 2022, a de- @ crease ‘from the 52 acne poi- 2 soning deaths in 21 Taking a Closer bok at overdose deaths in Halton, police noted that for the last three years 63 per cent of these fatalities resulted from using opioids, such as fentanyl. The new wyear is offering its own lenges Halton tiene ees inn to 47 suspected overdoses as of Feb. 13. Two of these people did not survive. Faced with these num- bers, Det. Sgt. Barrett Ga- briel of the Halton Police Regional Drug Unit is again warning residents to be careful where they get their drugs from. ne street: supply i is: stil used in the effort to save someone who was overdos- ing. It was also pointed out that during been 14 incidents of nalox- one being administered by tombers of the communi- his news was well re- ceived by Gabriel. “Although the number of overdose incidents ap- pear to be on therise, likely as a result of the lingering socio-economic effects of the pandemic, population pleased to see the number of fatal overdoses drop- ping,” he said. "We believe the reduc- tion in fatalities is largely due to the increase in the number of naloxone kits being obtained and used by also there was no one who could for help when they overdosed. Halton police adminis- tered the opioid overdose reversing medication nal- oxone 31 times in 2022. Police said that on nine of those 31 occasions multi- ple naloxone doses were Always Here ) insidehalton.com members of our communi- ty, the lifting of pandemic restrictions, creased awareness and support offered by the Hal- 3 INN oy <o) | = = David Lea/Metroland Naloxone kits have been an effective tool in keeping drug. overdoses from becoming fatal. es to ensure all avenues of investigation have been ex- “n “2, Halton police e distri- baton anon “that sees kits provided to individuals leaving their central lock- up at the Oakville police ton Regional P< in relation to individuals with substance use disor- ders." Police said they are working to tackle this crisis through a number of ave- nues. An overdose wo! ee investigators eets quarterly to review all patchy fatal overdos- 1 Koln [=)/ om Co) UL v Patient Counselling v¥ Complete Diabetic Care ¥ Vaccinations / Cholesterol, ATC, AFib and DNA Screening station. Between mid-N be and Jan. 31, Gabriel says 42 naloxone kits were distrib- uted through this program. ton Region Public Health also distributes nal- oxone to community agen- cies that wish to provide it to those who use igs as well as their friends and family members. Other organizations are DE RANGO PHARMACY INC. www.shoppersdrugmart.ca working to save lives, but say they need funding to do cao Monday, Feb. 13 the nadian Mental Health Association of Ontario called on the province to commit $125 million to bol- ster the community mental peaith and addictions sec- Nor Deborah Gatenby, CEO of the Halton-based addictions treatment orga- nization Hope Place Cen- tres, ensuring a safe drug supply is key to combating the: overdose epidemic. foucan do a lot of other things, but at the end of the day it's not going to be effec- tive, it's not going to move POLICE TAKING VARIOUS MEASURES T0 COMBAT PROBLEM MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION SUPPORTS Halton ADAPT: 905-639-6537 ext. 0, haltonadapt.org + Support House: 1-833-845-WELL (9355), supporthouse.ca - Local Nar-Anon groups: naranonontario.com + One-Link: 1-844-216-7411, one-link.ca the needle. This is a supply ," said Gatenb: ment, if they would listen, is to look at how we tran: tion people who are using from unsafe inconsistent products to a safe and con- ae on an That might That eee be aan else." Gatenby's comments were echoed An¢ porn the opioid pro- 1m manager at the non- profit addiction treatment ay of have and Halton lacks is a safe supply program where those at high risk of over- dose are prescribed opioids. “The difference is in us- ing th rescribed opioids they know exactly whatis in them. They know exactly what dose they're getting and how strong it is and {how much they a aretak- ing," said Wor« “Most niet tht over- dose don't do it on purpose. It's because they are using an unregulated supply and they don't know exactly what's in it." Community Treatment Services formerly known Safe Consumption (© pTo) (o<-) t you want, for the pi Catch a Great Deal! Browse our inventory of vehicles by Body Style, popular Makes and Models, Province, popular Cities or by Price. What the right price! you Sites), where people ise drugs wl fle being man. Ly deaths in Halton, Worotni- uk said. He said a withdrawal management centre, where people wanting to get off drugs can go through with- drawal in a_ supervised medical environment, is another option that might help the situation locally. alt resident Steve Boose, whose loved one is an addict, said he is in fa- vour of free naloxone kits. He said he would like to see business owners and their staff provided with these kits and trained in ir use so they will be ay if someone has an in- cident in or in front of their establishment. He also feels society is too focused on treat the symptoms of addiction and not its root causes. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With drug over- doses on the rise in Halton, we thought it was impor- tant for residents to know what is happening, what is being done about the prob- lem and what some feel should be done. for, in the location you t to pay! &autocatch..n