The sight of balloons usually means there’s something to celebrate.
That won’t be the case for the dozens of black balloons on display around Barrie on Saturday, March 6, which will mark Black Balloon Day, an international initiative to day to honour lives lost to toxic drug poisonings and to bring awareness to the toxic drug crisis facing the city and world.
The initiative, started by a family in the United States after the loss of of a family member to toxic drug poisoning in 2015, is meant to serve as an awareness opportunity of the number of people that lose their lives to drugs each year.
This is the first year it will take place in Barrie and is being led by local advocacy group Supervised Consumption Saves Lives in an attempt to bring awareness to the importance of a supervised consumption site in the downtown core.
“We thought it would be a good way to do it,” said Christine Nayler, who lost her son, Ryan, to toxic drug poisoning in November 2020.
They are using paper balloons which will be placed in various businesses around town.
“Some have facts about the realities of the drug crisis that’s facing our city and country, others have quotes from front-line workers or family members who’ve lost loved ones and some have names of people who’ve lost their lives through the drug crisis," Nayler added.
There will also be some balloons left blank, she said, for anyone who may want to add the name of a loved one.
“We just want to try to bring awareness and start conversations… and to help people really become more aware what’s going on in our city and the seriousness of it," said Nayler.
According to data by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, the city reportedly has drug overdose rates sitting at eight times higher than the provincial average, and saw 47 suspected overdose deaths in the first nine months of 2020 alone.
That’s why the creation of a supervised consumption site (SCS) in the downtown core is so important, added Nayler.
“All the facts say that in order to be effective it has to be where the drug users are and that’s where it is happening. We do have some consumption sites, but they’re just not safe," she told BarrieToday. "People are using all over the place and, in actuality, having a supervised consumption site is actually going to make the downtown a lot safer.”
An SCS is defined as a safe and clean space for people to use their own drugs under the care of nursing staff.
Several months ago, city councillors voted to defer a decision on a proposed supervised consumption site in Barrie until a third-party consultant could have a closer look at other such facilities across Canada.
Officials with the local health unit recently told BarrieToday they — in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association Simcoe County Branch — are a co-applicant for the Barrie SCS application and are working with the Barrie SCS site selection advisory on site selection and community consultation planning to bring a viable option forward to Barrie city council for endorsement.
Should city council endorse the proposed site, applications would then be submitted to the Ministry of Health and Health Canada for approval and funding.
“People who use drugs are not our enemies; they are our neighbours, our friends, our siblings, and our children. We need to give them the support they need to survive. A person cannot be helped when they are dead,” Nayler said. "Together we can change policy, end stigma and save lives.”
