Judy Darcy, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, issued the following statement regarding the proclamation of Recovery Week in British Columbia, Sept. 3-9, 2017:

Judy Darcy, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, has issued the following statement regarding two days that help bring attention to suicide prevention: Benefit for Life Day for positive mental health on Sept. 9, followed by World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10.

Fentanyl has been detected in more than four of every five illicit-drug overdose deaths in British Columbia through the first seven months of 2017, according to the latest statistics from the BC Coroners Service.

Judy Darcy, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, has issued the following statement regarding International Overdose Awareness Day, Aug. 31, 2017:

The stories of people taken by the overdose crisis come from every corner of the province. A forestry worker in the North who became addicted to painkillers for a workplace injury and then turned to street drugs. Friends celebrating after a wedding in the Interior. Suburban parents who left behind young children. Middle-aged men who were clean and sober for years.

The Province is providing $4.5 million to purchase the Super 8 motel, located at 1706 Main St., for supportive housing.

Illicit drug deaths in British Columbia continue to be a serious concern with the number of overdose deaths in the province up 88% compared with the same period in 2016, according to the latest statistics from the BC Coroners Service.

Experts attribute ongoing and historic colonization, trauma and dispossession of lands and resources as contributing to the impacts of the overdose public health emergency for First Nations peoples in B.C. Preliminary data released today point to emerging trends that First Nations peoples are overrepresented in this health emergency, similar to other health indicators driven by the social determinants of health.

Last week I met Don, a carpenter who became addicted to painkillers after an injury he got on the job. He ended up on the streets, and says he was in and out of the hospital about 100 times over a period of four years.