Part of the Opioid Solution

In recent weeks I've listened to front-line workers, first responders, and physicians talk about the alarming rise in drug-related overdoses and deaths, They have been compelling in speaking of the urgency of this situation, and some have choked back emotion as they spoke of the sense of desperation they experience in responding with limited resources to the rising tide of  misery.

It should be no surprise that last week more than 700 health care workers from across the province  wrote an open letter calling  on Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne to declare a provincial emergency due to the increase in overdose deaths related to opioid use in the province in recent months.
Among those who signed the letter include harm reduction workers, nurses, doctors and academics from 59 towns and cities in Ontario.

Health Minister Eric Hoskins responded, declining to adopt the designation of provincial emergency, pointing out that the government is well aware of the growing number of opioid deaths. In an interview I heard he outlined the  increased funding and resources designated to the challenge.

There is no easy answer to this crisis, it seems to me. This is a practical crisis for those on the front lines, but there are so many other layers to this. Obviously this is a crisis of meaning for the thousands of people who have turned to drugs for solace and escape, aware that there is a roulette wheel of risk from Fentanyl and other powerful and unknown additives. And our society still doesn't know how to separate the moral and practical aspects of addressing drug use and addiction.

As someone who has never used drugs, ever, I still strongly believe that communities need safe injection sites in order to save lives. I'm also convinced that communities of faith need to be vocal about this crisis and support without judgment those who are drug users, as well as voicing support for those who are responding.

Before I retired from Bridge St. UC our excellent administrator, Carol, asked how I felt about our space being used for a seminar on the opioid challenge, and whether it would be okay to put up cautionary and explanatory posters in our washrooms. I said yes to both, but I know we can do much more. I'm not sure what that is, but I do feel Christ calls us into ministries of practical grace, and that this is a key moment for congregations to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. These lives are precious to God, and the families of those at risk must be spared the tragedy of loss.

What do you think? Are you conflicted about what is unfolding? Can we do more?