McMan deals with personal side of local opioid crisis
People are dying in Lethbridge as the opioid crisis tightens its grip on the city, says Shannon Hansen, southwest zone director for McMan Youth, Family and Community services, and compassion for the victims seems to be in short supply in some quarters.
“I can confirm people have died in the city from overdoses the past few weeks,” said Hansen in an interview with The Herald on Tuesday. “The last number I was told was about 47 people have died. From firsthand knowledge, I know of five people personally who have died among those who use our services at McMan.
“As community members, I think the best thing we as individuals can do to handle the crisis in our city is to remember and never forget every person is a person, and every person matters ... To say that someone doesn’t matter, or they are choosing to be involved in drugs, is not the case. And people cannot just choose to quit. It is a lot more difficult than that.”
Hansen says she has heard all the stereotypes about those addicted to opioids in the city, and she is disturbed by the dismissive attitude some seem to have toward those in crisis.
“The opioid crisis isn’t unique to those living in poverty in this city,” she states. “Or people who are living on the streets. Through our Mobile Addiction Outreach program I know we have served a lot of people who are not of that demographic, individuals who would be considered respectable in the community, who do have jobs, but are just not as public because they have a place to go to. People would be very surprised to learn who was addicted to opioids in this city.”
The recent wave of overdoses and deaths is taking a toll on her staff, admits Hansen, as they desperately try to do their part to stem the deadly tide.
“Our workers across all of our programs are incredibly attached to their clients, and sometimes our clients have no one else in their corner who is going to bat for them,” she explains. “Our workers take it on themselves to be champions of these clients, and build good relationships with these people. The toll this is taking on our workers is large. The fact is we know their are certain clients who we do everything we can to keep them alive, but honestly the reality of the lifestyles they are doing and the drugs they are using the reality is they are not going to make it very long.
“Our staff all come to work every day knowing what they do has the potential to make a difference in someone’s life, and keep them alive,” Hansen adds. “But they also know they could potentially lose somebody they care about who they are supporting. It is hard not to take that personally as a failure.”
Hansen hopes by speaking out about what her workers are feeling and seeing McMan can help put a face to the tragedy, and humanize those who are dying in the city due to opioids.
“Even before this recent bad batch of opioids came out, on a regular basis we deal with people who, because of their addiction, are still taking fentanyl and are addicted to fentanyl who carry Naloxone kits with them a lot of the time. The hold of this drug is so incredibly strong on our clients; even though they know it kills people, and they understand they can overdose and die. They are not wanting to die, but they are taking that drug because there is a chemical need that is so strong it has that much of a hold over them.”