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
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
'Summer of discontent': Federal unions vow to fight new 3-day a week office mandate
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Watch fighter jet pilots pummel fake enemy ship off coast of Philippines
The United States and Philippines held annual joint-training drills just off the Southeast Asian nation’s western coast on Wednesday. Military forces sunk a 'mock' enemy warship – the BRP Lake Caliraya, which was a decommissioned tanker made in China.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his head more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
'Ozempic babies': Reports of surprise pregnancies raise new questions about weight loss drugs
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs to start for Canucks in Game 1 vs. Oilers
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.