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This year, I have spent a lot of time reporting on how the unregulated drug crisis is impacting people in Nanaimo.
While I have talked with politicians, doctors, nurses and harm reduction workers and advocates for my stories, two people in particular really stand out in my memory.
I first met Dee from the Nanaimo Area Network of Drug Users at The Vault Cafe in downtown Nanaimo, just down the street from the only Overdose Prevention Site in the city as well as City Hall.
We grabbed a booth with a couple of Dee’s friends.
What was initially just supposed to be a quick chat over coffee evolved into an hour-long conversation about her experience with the province’s safer supply program and what changes to it could mean for her as a patient.
She expressed fear about no longer being able to access take-home safer supply as part of her recovery program.
A number of months later, I was sitting at a picnic table in a community park on a hot summer day to meet with Lenae Silva about an upcoming art exhibit of hers that was featured in a harm reduction event at Vancouver Island University's Malaspina Theatre.
During our conversation, she told me that she was also a patient on the province’s prescribed alternatives program. She talked openly and honestly with me about how the program saved her life after a lifetime of using street drugs.
Making these connections was both important for my job as a community reporter as I strive to tell stories with the participation of people who are most directly impacted, but also were personally meaningful to me. Having Dee and Lenae put their trust in me to help tell their stories is something that I truly value.
As I write this, I’m worried for both of them with the news that the province will be moving to a witnessed consumption model for all patients, not just new patients, at the end of December.
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