The first folks showing up for a rally at 618 Tranquille Road to push for more change surrounding overdose crisis.

(SHANNON AINSLIE / iNFOnews.ca)

Kamloops residents gathered at two locations to call for government to take more action to address the overdose crisis today, Feb. 10.

The rally is a last minute addition to the bigger rallies in Vancouver and Victoria organized by Moms Stop the Harm.

READ MORE: 'We want attention': Moms Stop the Harm holding overdose crisis rally in Kamloops

While one group mustered around MLA Todd Stone’s office downtown, a second group set up outside MLA Peter Milobar’s office on the North Shore with a table of information on the crisis, a bag of naloxone kits and signs promoting safe drug supply. Passing drivers honked their horns in support while more folks passionate about the cause came trickling in.

Kamloops resident Mick Sandy was helping to organize the event, and he like many others in attendance, has been affected personally by the overdose crisis.

“Over 10 people I graduated with have lost their lives to this,” the 27-year-old said. “Not anyone really close to me personally, but it won’t be long until that happens unless something is done.”

The opioid crisis is a result of multiple complex factors, and is claiming lives at an increasing rate every year since the province declared a state of emergency in 2016.

The record for the highest number of overdose deaths in B.C. has been broken every year since 2015, aside from one time in 2019, according to a report released by the B.C. Coroners Service yesterday, Feb. 9. The previous record was set in 2020 when 1,767 deaths were reported, and that was topped by 2,224 deaths in 2021 – a 26% increase.

READ MORE: Illicit toxic drug deaths hit Thompson-Okanagan region hard in 2021

Organizer Sandra Tully said she ended up bringing her group over to join the group on the North Shore.

“There were a handful of us,” she said. “It was easier to be in one location.”

The mother of son who overdosed in 2016, Tully said she was disappointed at the numbers she saw released by the Coroners Service yesterday.

“I wish the government would stop talking in circles and actually do something other than just move beds and people around,” she said. “It is political. They want to appear they are doing something but they are not really. If they were doing something these numbers wouldn’t be increasing.”

The rally on the North Shore will continue into the afternoon.

Moms Stop the Harm is a network of Canadian families impacted by substance-use related harms and deaths. They advocate to change failed drug policies and provide peer support to grieving families and those with loved ones who use or have used substances.

Peter Milobar and Todd Stone are both out of their offices while the legislature is in session in Victoria.  

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