Regina non-profit launching anti-fentanyl campaign to try to save youth in North Central
CBC
A grassroots organization in Regina is launching an anti-fentanyl educational campaign in the city's North Central neighbourhood, in an attempt to protect youth from dying.
Women of the Dawn Inc., a non-profit that offers counselling services among other things, is paying out of pocket for two billboards — one near Fourth Avenue and Albert Street and another close to SARCAN Recycling, near Ninth Avenue and Albert Street.
"Nobody's educating our children in the neighbourhood. Nobody seems to want to say anything about the opioid crisis," executive director Ivy Kennedy told reporters Wednesday.
"We have to do something now."
The opioid crisis has been ongoing for years in Canada, but data shows the situation has progressively been getting worse in Saskatchewan — especially since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020.
The Saskatchewan Coroners Service has reported 186 confirmed or suspected overdose deaths throughout the province this year as of April 30, data shows.
Regina has not been immune to the trend, police data shows, but 2023 in particular is on pace to be a deadly year.
The Regina Police Service (RPS) reported 55 apparent overdose deaths as of April 30 — the most within the first four months of a year since at least 2018, publicly available data shows.
CBC News has sought comment from the RPS about what may be contributing to more people dying so far this year.
Kennedy said she has recently mourned three relatives due to fentanyl.
Her granddaughter, a 28-year-old mother of five, died about a year and a half ago, she said. Her nephew, 40, was experiencing homelessness and froze to death in December with fentanyl in his system. Then her grandson, 27, died in January after taking a Xanax pill that he didn't know was was laced with fentanyl.
Kennedy acknowledged the problem is not exclusive to North Central, but having lived in the neighbourhood for three decades, she knows drugs affect many families in the area.
She hopes the signs, which are supposed to be up Thursday, will spark conversations among families who live in North Central and help educate youth living there.
Shay Scales, 22, supports Women of the Dawn's initiative.
When Premier Tim Houston recently raised the idea of reconsidering the province's ban on uranium exploration, the suggestion may have left some people scratching their heads.
Former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Paul Hodgson has a couple of reasons to celebrate Family Day — and Black History Month, for that matter.
A year ago, then Gatineau mayor France Bélisle abruptly resigned, citing a hostile political climate. This week she has spoken out, offering more details of her complaints about municipal politics in Quebec.
One man is dead and three others are in police custody after a deadly assault on a Manitoba First Nation.
When Piper sends her son to school every morning, she calls out a similar refrain: "I love you, try your best, I'll be here to pick you up when school is done," hoping he will be safe and supported.
A downtown Edmonton business advocacy group is worried about how a series of planned bridge closures due to construction could impact the city.
Vancouver resident Tara Garofano says she made a dinner reservation on Valentine's Day — not for romance, but to take advantage of the final hours of the federal government's temporary Goods and Services Tax (GST) holiday.
Students at McMaster University in Hamilton are questioning the institution's commitment to the prevention of sexual violence after staffing changes at the office responsible for that work on campus.
Windsor-Essex could see its biggest snowfalls of the year in what Canada's weather agency is calling a "highly impactful" storm.
Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services (FWES) is looking into reports of two young cougars that were spotted alone near Canmore this week.
All crew members of the MSC Baltic III have been rescued after their vessel ran aground close to the Lark Harbour shoreline off Newfoundland and Labrador's west coast.
Here's a look at some of the closures, and special events, happening in Thunder Bay on the Family Day weekend:
If you live in or around Toronto, you may want to keep that shovel nearby.