We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Honourable Kelvin Goertzen, Minister of Health, for taking the time to hear the voices of families that have been devastated by the growing opiate epidemic in our Province.
The meeting held October 31, 2016 with the Minister and the families yielded many common denominators in:
• how far we are behind other Provinces in dealing with this epidemic
• how underfunded and underprepared our healthcare system and all institutions are
• the importance of having an advocate appointed for the person struggling with the addiction
• understanding our future challenges and how complex this issue is
• the lack of support available for families who are struggling with addiction
• the need for retraining of our professionals to understand the complications of opiate addiction
• expanding the distribution of naloxone
Our communities need to understand how rapidly this epidemic is growing. It is time to take immediate action to find a solution before we lose an entire generation of our children.
We hope you will join the SOY Foundation and its effort to raise awareness and funding for programs and facilities that are dedicated to helping our youth and their families struggling with addiction.
Time is Running Out