Building a safe and supportive community

Re: Fentanyl sparks high alert as opioid overdoses and deaths rise — April 6

It is encouraging to hear that front line Waterloo Region Police Services officers will be carrying naloxone. Providing this service to those in need is the first step toward saving lives. However, these resources need to be placed in the hands of those using in the community. We need to empower individuals to take hold of their own health, and to be unafraid to help those around them. This kind of service needs to be health care, rather than a consequence that comes along with incarceration.

Our society criminalizes addiction, and this move has the potential to link treatment to the justice system.

Providing naloxone and harm reduction resourc- es are keys to building a community that is safe and supportive to everyone participating in it. The key element of change needs to be compassion. Compassion from government bodies that this is a real health care epidemic that needs addressing, and compassion from the public that addiction is an issue influenced by housing, childhood development and any number of other social determinants.

If you are concerned about yourself or anyone around you being at risk of overdosing on an opiate such as fentanyl, please seek out a pharmacy, or contact Waterloo Public Health for naloxone training.

Brendan Lew

Medical student, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine

Kitchener