“Dear Parents and Caregivers, we need your help.”
Those two lines are the beginning of a prescient letter issued in late June by Vancouver Police Department Chief Adam Palmer. It’s addressed to the thousands of parents and countless others who have kids in the Vancouver School District.
In the letter, Palmer is asking for attentiveness and open dialogue around fentanyl.
“We are starting to see an increase in fentanyl use and overdoses in our youth, and we are very concerned,” Palmer wrote. “Fentanyl can be 40 to 50 times more toxic than heroin. Many teens seem to feel invincible and believe terrible things only happen to other people, which can make it a challenge for them to hear the safety message we’re trying to share.”
That dialogue continues Nov. 28, when the VPD, Vancouver School District and Vancouver Coastal Health host a fentanyl and naloxone FAQ at Britannia Secondary.
Aimed at both parents and students, the meeting will include guest speakers, learning stations and a question-and-answer period. The guest speakers from Vancouver Coastal Health include medical health officer Dr. Reka Gustafson, Sally Kupp, a clinical educator in illicit drug overdose response and prevention, and Jen Donovan, who works in youth addictions services. They’ll be joined by a VPD spokesperson and Art Steinmann, who manages the district’s SACY (School Age Children and Youth) Substance Use Health Promotion initiative.
The three learning stations will be centred around specific themes: How to Talk with Your Kids or Friends; Tools for Overdose Response; and Prevention and Role Modeling
“The opioid poisoning epidemic is impacting our community; the number of deaths is not abating,” Steinmann told the Courier in an email. “Like others in the community, many VSB students, parents and staff have questions and seek accurate information. Being able to discuss key issues and hear current information are important ways to ease anxiety and equip people to take effective action.”
Next week’s forum is the third instalment in a series that began in June. Those forums were precipitated by police approaching the district in November 2016, says VPD spokesperson Const. Jason Doucette. Two more will likely be scheduled within the first few months of 2018.
“The goal of these forums is education and [to] encourage open discussions between students and their parents,” Doucette said in an email. “The speakers talk about the inherent dangers of drug use, the unreliability of the stereotypical drug user, and the attendees are provided with several available resources.”
Updated statistics released by the BC Coroners Service on Nov. 9 point to 1,103 overdose deaths as of Sept. 30. Fentanyl has been detected in 10 deaths across B.C. this year among the 10-to-18 age group. Twelve died in the same demographic last year, compared to two in 2015.
More than 80 per cent of all of this year’s illicit drug overdose deaths (914) had fentanyl detected, an increase of 147 per cent over the same period in 2016.
The Nov. 28 forum runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Britannia Secondary School. Doors open at 6 p.m.
jkurucz@vancourier.com
