Jessica and Aubrey Michalofsky.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED

A mom who lost her son to an overdose will be stopping in the Okanagan as she runs hundreds of kilometres from Nelson to Victoria to raise awareness about the toxic drug supply.

Jessica Michalofsky’s son Aubrey died in August 2022 at the age of 25.

“He struggled with drugs but he seemed to be able to do a bunch of drugs and then get back online, you know kind of cycle through that,” she said.

Aubrey was treating his addiction when he died, but he lived 50 kilometres from the Slocan Valley pharmacy that supplied his methadone. Prescriptions were not given out in large amounts so he had to travel there three times each week, and he didn’t have a car.

But it was while living in Victoria where Aubrey first started to struggle.

“So I moved him back to the Kootenays (where he lived until he was 13). His dad was there. I thought it would be safer, I thought it was unsafe in Victoria. But he died in Slocan Valley.”

READ MORE: B.C. premier 'astonished' firm got Health Canada approval to make and sell cocaine

Looking back, Jessica feels like her son would have been safer in the larger centre where services are better and more accessible.

She notices the quality of help available varies by community, and said it can be difficult to identify which organizations are even offering assistance.

“It seems the resources that are offered to people are often pilot projects,” Jessica said. “In each city they’ve got these names like Phoenix or Umbrella – it’s just really confusing.”

Expecting an addict to quit drugs cold turkey is something Jessica considers to be very unrealistic. So when British Columbians like her son want to get high, she wants the severe consequences of overdose to be mitigated by a safe supply.

“I would rather have him alive and using drugs, with the potential of improving his life, than death. Because now there’s never any potential.”

READ MORE: Kamloops's top cop calls for safe drug supply

Considering how anybody who goes into a liquor store is able to measure how much alcohol they’re purchasing by the volume and percentage on the label, Jessica doesn’t see why that shouldn’t be the case for deadlier drugs. However, she believes a safe supply of heavy drugs should be regulated in a way that prevents them from being accessible to people who are not dependent upon them.

To try and get her message across, Jessica will be travelling roughly 1,000 kilometres for the Run For Aubrey - Saving Lives One Step At A Time.

It begins in Nelson on May 21. She plans to be in Grand Forks on May 26, and her first Okanagan stop will be in Osoyoos on May 31. She’ll be in Oliver June 1; Penticton June 4; Kelowna June 6; Keremeos June 7; Princeton June 9; and Hope on June 14. Her final destination is Victoria on June 25.

READ MORE: What to know about B.C. decriminalizing possession of drugs for personal use

Some of Jessica's destinations are vastly spaced apart and will require her to spend several days to reach while running along Highway 3. She'll have a camper van following her and is planning to sleep on logging roads – but would also be happy to plug in and rest a little more comfortably if any rural homeowners want her to stop by. 

For those interested in attending a rally or running with Jessica, find out where she’ll be closer to each date through her Facebook page.

And anybody who wants to donate to her campaign can do so through the Gofundme page.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Dan Walton or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2023