Both heartbreak and hope on Overdose Awareness Day
Part of the solution to the overdose crisis that’s gripping Penticton and many other communities lies in our own hearts, says a bereaved father whose son fell victim to the poisoned drug supply.
Tim Lezard was among the speakers Wednesday at the International Overdose Awareness Day event in Gyro Park in downtown Penticton.
His 22-year-old son, Aaron, died in June 2018 after unwittingly ingest- ing fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.
Lezard, also a Penticton Indian Band councillor, said he arrived home as paramedics were still working on Aaron, who fell unconscious in his room and never woke up. Lezard took comfort in the immediate support his family received from the community.
“When they were taking his body out of the house, there was probably 100 people there with drums and stuff, and one of the paramedics said: ‘Do you know this is very special?’ He said, ‘This doesn’t happen. Usually there’s nobody there,’” recalled Lezard. It’s that lack of love and connection that Lezard believes pushes people towards drugs in the first place.
“You can just walk up here and see people hurting,” said Lezard, gesturing south towards the downtown core.
“They have nowhere to go and they must feel unloved. They must feel unconnected. These are the people we have to help. We have to have open doors, open minds, open hearts – and help.”
Noting the dozen or so service agencies in attendance at Gyro Park, Lezard said he also takes comfort in knowing there is help available for those in crisis.
“This day triggers me. It makes me angry. It makes me sad. But it makes me glad that there are people here and organizations of people who want to make a difference,” said Lezard.
“The truth is, we could all make a difference. To make this thing better, we all need to do something — even just a little bit. We just need to love more, I think.”
At least 14 people died of suspected drug overdoses in Penticton through the first half of 2022, according to the B.C. Coroners Service.
That left Penticton on pace to surpass the record-setting 26 fatalities it saw in 2021.
And the misery is spread right across the province, which declared a public health emergency in response to the opioid crisis in 2016, as at least 1,095 B.C. residents died from suspected drug overdoses from January to June, an average of six deaths per day.
According to the coroners service, 78% of those who died this year were men, and most were between the ages of 30 and 59. Fentanyl was detected in 86% of all victims