Mental Health and Addictions Minister Sheila Malcolmson, as well as Comox Valley-Strathcona-North Island Medical Health Officer Dr. Charmaine Enns, were among the 30 participants at SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 (Nov. 26) Walk With Me event in Courtenay.

The Walk With Me project involves a 45-minute group walk while listening to audio stories narrated by people whose lives have been impacted by the toxic drug poisoning crisis B次元官网网址� including people who use drugs, family members and front-line workers.

After the walk, there is a group sharing circle for further discussion on the issue, and on what can be done to initiate change.

SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 walk left a marked impression on Malcolmson.

B次元官网网址淭he voices of the men and women who told their stories resonate so much with what I have heard in Nanaimo,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚t tells the story so powerfully about inter-generational trauma, and creates so much empathy for how people could be homeless, how they could be (struggling with) addiction. It is so much the story about how stigma and shame are at the root of so much in the overdose crisis. If other people could hear those stories, it would change the conversation about how we view, in all our communities, those who are homeless, and those who are struggling with addiction.

B次元官网网址淚f more people heard the stories we heard this morning, they would be more kind to people who are having a hard time; it would make everybody more willing to come forward and get help. It would mean fewer people would retreat at a time when they need to get help. I heard time and time again that the opposite of addiction is connectionB次元官网网址� a thing like Walk With Me can really bring people together, and I think it can save lives.B次元官网网址�

Malcolmson said she would like to see the Walk With Me project come to more communities throughout the Island and beyond.

B次元官网网址淚 heard people in the sharing circle say this should go provincewide and I agree. IB次元官网网址檇 love to see it happen. While we build more supports for preventing overdose and for helping people overcome addiction, we really need to have that community understanding about the root of it.B次元官网网址�

Since the toxic drug poisoning crisis was labeled a public health emergency in 2016, more than 30,000 Canadians have died, including 10,000 deaths in B.C. - an average of seven lives lost per day. In B.C., deaths due to drug overdoses are more common than deaths due to car crashes, homicides and suicides combined.

As the mental health and addictions minister, Malcolmson has seen some advancements in government support, but she realizes there is still a long way to go.

B次元官网网址淣o matter what, the elected officials have responsibilities, and I am working very hard to take that responsibility,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e added hundreds of new addiction treatment beds, weB次元官网网址檝e added prescribed safe supply, weB次元官网网址檝e achieved decriminalization for people who use drugs, we are working on prevention, all those things. ThatB次元官网网址檚 a fact, and itB次元官网网址檚 a fact that there is a lot more for us to do.B次元官网网址�

Enns was equally impacted by the project.

B次元官网网址淲ow. Lots to think about,B次元官网网址� she said at its conclusion. B次元官网网址淏ut these are stories and conversations we really have to be a part of. I have so much gratitude for the people who so bravely and with so much vulnerability told their stories. They were done in a way that was really respectful but grounded us in the reality of life, of peopleB次元官网网址檚 lives. We canB次元官网网址檛 go on living our lives separately from one another. But itB次元官网网址檚 more than conversations - we have to be mobilized into action.B次元官网网址�

She said everyone has a responsibility to be part of the solution.

B次元官网网址淲e are all responsible to make change where we can make change,B次元官网网址� said Enns. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not to feel that B次元官网网址榶ou canB次元官网网址檛 change the world so youB次元官网网址檙e not going to do anythingB次元官网网址� mentality; itB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址榳hat can you do, and where can you do it?B次元官网网址� ItB次元官网网址檚 not enough to feel good that you went on a walk. You have to be part of the change. And what does that change look like in your area of influence? I know for me and the health authority we have some difficult conversations and we have to keep raising that bar and challenging each other.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 think what a program like Walk With Me does at a community level is really cement the fact that addiction and overdose can happen to everybodyB次元官网网址� and all of us have to understand that, and itB次元官网网址檚 help that people need - not condemnation, and not shame,B次元官网网址� added Malcolmson.

There is another public walk in Courtenay at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29. Meet at the Comox Valley Art Gallery. You can register for the event in advance at