'It's always heartbreaking': Regina police beg public to see dangers of opioids

The Regina Police Service (RPS) is urging the public to see the human side of the province's opioid crisis.

It comes as RPS reports another month of grim overdose statistics.

"We are asking – even begging – people to stop for a moment to consider the clear and present danger of fentanyl and other drugs in our city," the service said in a news release.

"This drug is killing fathers, mothers, children, siblings, friends, neighbours and colleagues. And it is ruining the lives of many more people."

WATCH | Saskatchewan's deadliest opioids:

According to the release, RPS's communications centre transferred 231 calls to paramedics for fatal and non-fatal overdoses in November. In the same month, officers responded to 28 of those calls, with 18 of them resulting in fatalities.  

Police say officers responded to 137 calls between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1 where people had died from an overdose. The Saskatchewan Coroners Service, meanwhile, reported 81 confirmed overdose deaths in Regina between Jan. 1 and Nov. 3.

Confirmed and suspected overdose deaths provincewide in 2021 were 363 as of Nov. 3. There were 314 confirmed deaths in 2020.

Nicki Clarke knows the impact of fatal drug overdoses firsthand.

Clarke's sister died of an overdose five years ago. Today, she's a board member with White Pony Lodge, a non-profit organization in Regina that — among other initiatives — conducts patrols of the city's North Central neighbourhood to remove needles and other items used while injecting drugs.

She says the numbers aren't surprising, but believes people are much more than just their addiction.

"It's always heartbreaking just to know that we're losing another person," Clarke said.

Her mind often goes to the people she's talked to while working with White Pony Lodge.

"There was one woman going through pretty severe withdrawal. We just sat and talked. She told me about her life."