Humans of Public Health puts face on opioid crisis
WATERLOO REGION — “We would do anything to bring Sean back. But we can’t bring him back so we’ll tell his story.”
Kitchener parents Jess and Nick tell the heartbreaking loss of their teenage son Sean to an overdose on the website Humans of Public Health.
It’s an initiative of Waterloo Region’s health department to highlight its work and partners in building a healthy and supportive community in the style of the popular “Humans of New York” — a series of portraits and interviews collected on the streets of New York City.
“The focus is on telling stories about the work public health does and the partnerships we have,” said Julie Kalbfleisch, the department’s manager of information and communications.
Public health shares the stories through its social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and on Medium. The stories featured include a public health nurse who talks about the need for harm reduction efforts, a new mother’s breastfeeding experiences, outreach workers for Sanguen Health Centre, and local families like Sean’s coping with the grim reality of a fatal overdose.
Odette (her last name not published) shares the story of her difficult childhood growing up in Kitchener and the toll of addiction after 16 years of daily drug use.
“It’s not a life, it’s not living. It’s existing at best. It’s lonely and empty. It has been years since I’ve been interested in anything other than this lifestyle,” she explains. “Being an addict consumes your life.”
Each story is accompanied by a portrait. The public health department is finding it’s a powerful way to reach people. It puts faces to different jobs, and on complex issues facing the community, including the opioid crisis.
“Stories, they resonate differently,” Kalbfleisch said. “Hopefully it will help with the conversations.”
Public health started the storytelling venture a year ago, first focusing on paramedic services. That broadened after the positive response and a meeting with a group of the Waterloo Region Integrated Drugs Strategy.
“They just embraced the idea and people volunteered,” she said.
That included families who lost someone they loved to an overdose and who wanted to let people know it could happen to anyone.
“They were looking for an opportunity to share their story in hopes it would raise awareness,” said Kalbfleisch, who writes all the profiles.
More are planned for Humans of Public Health, and next week two will be shared during Paramedic Services Week to highlight the service — including a paramedic and a woman who suffered cardiac arrest and survived thanks to an ambulance crew. Read the stories at medium.com/humansofpublichealth.