By Ashley Legassic

Kamloops to receive team tasked with preventing ODs in recently released inmates

Jan 30, 2019 | 9:00 AM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops will be one of five communities in the province with a team dedicated to preventing overdose deaths among people recently released from correctional facilities.

The initiative stems from a BC Coroners Service death review panel report released last year, that showed two-thirds of British Columbians who died of an illegal drug overdose between January 2016 and July 2017 had recent contact with the criminal justice system.

Of those, 10 per cent died within their first month of release from a correctional facility.

There will be five new community transition teams stationed across the province, each aiming to address this problem by helping people with opioid-use disorders access treatment in their communities after their release.

“People who are transitioning back to their communities after incarceration deserve a fresh start,” said Mental Health and Addictions Minister Judy Darcy in a news release. “For those with opioid-use disorder, the guidance of peer support is foundational to preventing overdose. Together with all partners, we are building a full spectrum of connected services to save lives so that people from all walks of life can find the support they need to find a pathway to hope and healing.”

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Are the B.C. Conservatives digging their own graves?

2h ago

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Culturally appropriate food goes beyond the ingredients on a plate

Dec 14, 2024

Two and Out

PETERS: Whether building up or tearing down, Kamloops is what you make it

Dec 13, 2024

Teams will be stationed in Kamloops, Prince George, Surrey, Nanaimo and Port Coquitlam to begin. Each will consist of a social worker and a peer who has lived experience with drugs, the correctional system or both.

They’ll work with clients for roughly 30 days following their release to connect with a community physician, fill prescriptions and access other recovery supports.

“People involved with the criminal justice system are some of society’s most vulnerable,” said Lynn Pelletier, vice president of BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services. “They’re also among the hardest to reach in the midst of this overdose emergency. Integrating correctional care with community-based care gives us an opportunity not just to prevent overdose, but also connect to health services and possibly change the trajectory of their lives by addressing some of the social and economic realities that brought them to us in the first place.”

Teams will begin connecting with their first clients this month.