Windsor mother pushes for better addiction transitional supports amid doubling of opioid-related deaths
A new study published in a Canadian medical journal paints a bleak picture around opioid-related deaths in Canada.
It shows the number of those deaths has more than doubled over a three-year period when the pandemic hit high gear.
The study, published recently in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, covers a period from January of 2019 to December 2021.
“There was this immediate and significant increase in opioid related deaths,” said Tara Gomes, an epidemiologist at Unity Health.
Over that three-year stretch, opioid deaths jumped from 3,007 in 2019 to more than 6,222 in 2022, which according to study authors equates to a quarter million years of life lost due to opioid-related deaths.
The group most affected is men between the ages of 30 and 39.
It hits close to home for Christy Soulliere of Windsor, Ont. who lost her son Austin Tremblay to an accidental overdose in November, 2022.
“He's gone. You know, and there's nothing worse in the world than losing a child,” said Soulliere.
She said Tremblay battled addiction since he was 15 and was in and out of treatment facilities more than a dozen times.
On his last day, after 30 days of sobriety, he took a substance which was laced with four times the lethal dose of fentanyl.
“I crumbled,” she recalled. “My world, everything I had fought 12 years to stop, it happened.”
Tremblay was just 27 years old.
In Ontario, one in three deaths of people in their 20s and 30s are opioid related and according to the study, they’re primarily caused by fentanyl.
“These are kids, it’s a whole generation. And if those numbers are right, it's 25 per cent of that generation is no longer going to be here,” said Soulliere. “I don't know how people aren't taking that serious.”
The report suggests the increase among younger age groups points to a critical need for targeted prevention efforts.
And that’s exactly what Soulliere is doing in her son’s memory.
She launched Austin’s Red Shoe Project with the goal of opening a transitional house for people who have gotten sober, left detox and need support before treatment beds open up.
“Nobody's staying sober for those four months. So there needs to be an area that fills that gap,” she said. “And there needs to be more support for families that are dealing with this themselves.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Not a scarient': New COVID-19 subvariant dominant in Canada
A new COVID-19 subvariant is dominant in Canada, representing just over 30 per cent of cases in the country, but infectious disease experts say there’s no sign it’ll evolve into a summer 'scarient.'
DEVELOPING Massive manhunt in France for prison-break gang that gunned down officers
A massive manhunt was underway in France on Wednesday for an armed gang that killed two prison officers and seriously injured three others to spring an inmate they were escorting.
Growing wildfires across Western Canada are forcing thousands from their homes
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
Sun shoots out biggest solar flare in almost 2 decades, but Earth should be out of the way this time
The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly two decades Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummelled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places.
Victim loses $2M in online romance scam
A Malahide Township resident is out more than $2 million following a romance scam.
Stormy Daniels' husband says they'll likely leave country if Trump is acquitted
The husband of adult film actress Stormy Daniels said on Tuesday that there’s a 'good chance' the couple will leave the country if former President Donald Trump is acquitted in his Manhattan criminal trial.
An imbalance of two healthy fats affects your early death risk, study finds
Eating enough healthy fats is great for brain and heart health, but new research has possibly provided even more evidence for adding them, particularly omega-3s, to your diet.
'Inappropriate' behaviour shuts down Dublin to New York City portal
Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, 'inappropriate behaviour' in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.
Biden says he'll debate Trump twice: 'Make my day'
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he was willing to debate Republican presidential rival Donald Trump twice before the Nov. 5 election but would not take part in the traditional televised showdowns organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates.