Prince George families will come together to mark the seventh anniversary of the overdose crisis in British Columbia.
The local organization Broken Hearts of Fentanyl is organizing a gathering on April 14, at 1350 Fifth Avenue at 1 p.m. to share a message regarding the anniversary.
Organizers say it will be a loud message to the world.
Positive Living North will also be on site to provide naloxone education and training.
In 2022 a group of parents who’d lost children to overdoses also gathered in front of MP Todd Doherty’s office to mark the sixth anniversary of the crisis.
On April 14, 2016, B.C. became the first province in Canada to declare a public health emergency over the increase in overdose deaths from illicit drugs.
Since then that number of deaths as risen to at least 11, 195 as of January of 2023.
That is an average of 6.8 lives lost every day in B.C.
Prince George saw seven overdose deaths in January and 81 people in the city died throughout last year.
Information on drug overdose deaths in B.C. is now being through an online dashboard, which will be updated monthly.
Northern Health has also recently issued a toxic drug alert for Prince George, as there has been an increase in overdose events in the city.
