When life in the city means saving a life

Do no harm.

This axiom does not apply only to doctors, it also applies to us. Here is a corollary: When doing no harm is not possible, it is preferable to undo, or to lessen, the harm being done.

Because we are, after all, human, and some of us sometimes do dangerous things, and drug use can be one of these dangerous things.

I mean to say there is no good argument against harm reduction: If we cannot stop people from using injection drugs — and we cannot — then it is surely better for us to make sure there is a supply of clean needles and knowledge of safe practices. And if there is a way to intervene during a drug overdose, then we also have that responsibility.

And so, Naloxone.

It is a drug that will arrest an opioid overdose almost instantly. It is an utter miracle.

Toronto has been giving out Naloxone kits for five years now — some 3,000 kits and counting — and in that time, Naloxone has been used to stop more than 540 overdoses. Kits and training are available through a Toronto Public Health program called the Point.

And so it was that, a few weeks back, awards were handed out in recognition of those who have used the kits to save lives. Meet Amy Wright. She picked up one of the 30 certificates handed out. Here are some things you should know about her: She has been homeless, she has used drugs, she was once addicted, she has been straight for five years and counting and the things that she has seen would make a lesser person hard or bitter.

But she does not look like she was ever homeless or that she once used drugs. She looks, well, wholesome. She laughed.

“There were dealers who wouldn’t sell to me because they thought I was a cop.” The life she saved? “This was last New Year’s Eve. I was walking to the store to get some pop and munchies; me and a friend were watching a movie. A minute’s walk from my building, there was a woman on the ground, on her back, her knees drawn up.

“I noticed she was laying in vomit, and her eyes were rolling back, and she was having trouble breathing. I’d seen her before. She’s street- involved. I’ve seen her under the influence.

“She wasn’t wearing a jacket, she was just wearing tights and a T-shirt, and it was cold, and all these people were walking by her, or they were in the coffee shop having coffee and looking at her.” Life in the city. But Amy had her backpack, to carry home her pop. In her backpack was a Naloxone kit — and this is also life in the city.

“I gave her a shot in the arm. It only took one shot. She jolted up. She jumped to her feet and said, ‘Where’s my purse, my shoes.’ ” And then she took off. She ran just as the old year was ending, heading for the New Year with her life in her hands.

Did the woman make it and, if so, does she know who saved her life? Amy said, “I’ve seen her since. I saw her last week. She has no clue. I don’t bring it up. I say ‘Hi.’ I give her a smoke when I can. If she knows, she’s keeping it to herself.” How does Amy feel? “It was upsetting.” She meant about the bystanders. But the point is that Amy stopped, and she had a Naloxone kit, and she undid some harm, and a life goes on when it otherwise might have ended on the street.

Amy is about to complete her fourth year of a social work degree, and has plans for a master’s. She also works in a west-end community health centre, and she is a support worker in one of the downtown social agencies, and she is on a committee helping to design Toronto’s new safe-injection sites.

On top of this, she does her own personal downtown safety walk, early in the mornings, keeping an eye out for anyone who might also need a shot in the arm. Joe Fiorito appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. jfiorito@thestar.ca

Toronto has been giving out Naloxone kits for five years, and in that time the drug has been used to stop more than 540 overdoses