I want to take you on a journey that has tested my strength like nothing I have ever experienced in my life.
Picture my boys, Michael in Grade 2 and Benny in Kindergarten. Their whole living memory has been of Covid and the opioid crisis. They are now 12 and 10.
During Covid, they kept finding needles and drug paraphernalia outside of our family businesses, Finley’s Bar & Grill and Sage.
We had to call police and fire daily for help. Our boys, in trying to help, were also inadvertently picking up left over needles and drug paraphernalia. An officer had to come to our house to train Michael and Benny on what drugs are, how to get help when they find needles, what drug bags look like and to point and ask for a parent.
You should know that our neighbourhood were the people that once said yes to the shelter funded by BC Housing and the Clubhouse funded by Interior health. We accepted and lived harmoniously with no issues until 2021.
Suddenly, our peaceful place where we lived and worked began to become so scary, dark and disturbing it was as if we were living in a horror show that never ends.
The smell of human urine and feces permeating in the concrete as you step outside your door. The constant sounds of sirens and human despair. Erratic screams and yelling.
I once encountered a man with a huge hunting knife who was removing the top layer of skin from his hand. I begged him to stop because he was hurting himself. His friend leaned over and said, “he thinks he is a bug”. The shelter staff advised me to never get that close. “If he thinks he is a bug, he may end up thinking you are a bug, and stab you.”
Seniors that needed their food coupons no longer felt safe walking alone. They would come to Finley’s and I would escort them daily through the sidewalks and into the senior centre, often tripping over seemingly dead people laying on the stairs. The street became so toxic. People that live in our area are forced to sleep with earplugs, noise cancelling machines, bats, fire extinguishers by their bed, and 911 on speed dial.
The entire block is now gated, with video surveillance surrounding us 24 hours a day.
If you don’t live or work near an overdose prevention site (OPS), injection site or a shelter, you have no idea what we are enduring. The reason people are afraid when you place a shelter or an OPS site of any kind is because there are no safeguards. These failed models do not work, and we have witnessed this for too long. Saving lives and complete chaos do not go hand in hand.
My story is no different than so many others.
In 2023, the Neighbourhood Network (N2) was formed.
Individually we all tried to speak to various levels of government, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. We needed to organize as a community. We knew we would not be heard alone.
We now have six neighbourhood networks in the Kootenays, Nelson, Trail, Cranbrook, Creston, Castlegar and Kimberley. Each of these communities were begging for help. The desperation in their voices and eyes was a feeling I know all too well.
We are working very hard to protect our families, but also our town’s vibrancy and safety. Jobs are suffering greatly due to lack of visitors or residents not leaving their own neighbourhood. Communities that have these serious addiction issues are not desirable to go to anymore. Towns that were once hidden gems have fallen through the cracks of this war on drugs.
When SOS formed, we realized that the same things were happening to communities and job providers big and small all across the province. We all, N2 and SOS, have helped to create a strong network of common voices that want to make BC safe for everyone.
Our N2 groups are proud and thankful to stand with SOS as it provides an opportunity for our individual communities to speak together with a common voice to bring about real change to our province.