Experts spanning the fields of medicine, law enforcement and advocacy will convene on City Hall Thursday in an attempt to come to grips with the unprecedented fentanyl crisis plaguing Metro Vancouver.
Scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Town Hall meeting room, the forum will feature speakers — family and friends of overdose victims — directly impacted by the opioid epidemic that’s claimed more than 620 people in B.C. this year alone.
Other guest speakers include:
* Patricia Daly, Vancouver Coastal Health’s chief medical health officer and vice president.
* Al Fowler, president of the British Columbia Association for People on Methadone.
* Adam Palmer, Vancouver Police Department Chief.
* Sarah Heneghan, an administrator with Vancouver Coastal Health and the Urban Native Youth Association.
* Patrick Smith, director of aboriginal health with the PHS Community Services Society.
* Leslie McBain, family member of an overdose death victim and member of the group known as Moms United and Mandated to Saving the Lives of Drug Users.
The forum is being co-organized by the city, the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) and the Western Aboriginal Harm Reduction Society.
“The alarming number of drug overdose deaths has prompted B.C.’s Chief Health Officer to declare a public health emergency,” notes a press release from forum organizers. “The forum will focus on documenting cooperative strategies that need to happen to put an end to this crisis.”
Sign in for the forum begins at 6:30 p.m. and anyone is welcome to attend.
