Hatters travel to Calgary, Edmonton for simultaneous rallies in support of Alberta supervised consumption

By JEREMY APPEL on February 29, 2020.

jappel@medicinehatnews.com@MHNJeremyAppel

Several Hatters attended simultaneous rallies in Calgary and Edmonton on Wednesday in support of supervised consumption sites.

About 60 people attended the rally in Calgary across the street from the Sheldom Chumir Centre, while 100 people turned out for the Edmonton event, which included a die-in, where attendees dropped to the ground to represent all the lives lost from opiate overdoses, outside the steps of the legislature building.

For some attendees who have lost loved ones to addiction, the topic is personal.

Robyn Westgarth’s brother, Shane, died of an overdose three years ago.

“He passed away alone, so a supervised consumption site could have given him a place to go. It could have saved his life,” said Westgarth, who attended the Calgary demonstration with her father, Bob.

She said she spent time at Arches – the Lethbridge SCS – over the weekend, where she learned their approach is about more than simply reversing overdoses.

According to Arches, since the site’s opening in March 2018, it’s reversed 2,500 overdoses while making 9,000 referrals to treatment, detox or mental health services.

“It’s a pathway to recovery. It’s not just a place for safe injection,” said Westgarth. “You can’t get people to treatment if they’re not alive.”

Another attendee from the Hat who lost a loved one to the opioid crisis is Kym Porter, whose son Neil Balmer died from an overdose in 2016.

“The whole day felt like I was with people who understood the language I spoke, because we were all speaking the same language. It was a day where you felt compassion and empathy for people who struggled with their pain and have struggled with their addiction because of their pain,” said Porter.

“It’s become a partisan issue and I don’t believe it should have anything to do with politics. This is more a crisis of humanity and some of those people who have the ability and power in the province to honour all humanity are choosing not to.”

13
-12