Troster: Remember, people who use drugs are also our neighbours
One reason drug use is so visible in downtown Ottawa is because so many live in rooming houses or spend the night in shelters. They live their lives — and their struggles — very much in the public eye.
This article is written as a follow-up to “Drug use is making Centretown less and less safe,” Feb. 21.
There is a reason I always carry Naloxone. It’s because two years ago, I didn’t, and as I walked my daughter home from school in Centretown, we encountered a man keeled over on the sidewalk, stiff as a board. I called 911 and checked his vitals, while simultaneously trying to reassure my then-nine-year-old daughter and her friends.
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Within seconds, a police officer arrived, whipped out a vial of Naloxone and administered it to the fallen man via nose spray. The man immediately jumped to life, suddenly conscious. I have no idea what happened to him after that day, but in that moment, I was relieved to see that he was alive.
Finding an unconscious person was unusual during my walks to and from school with my daughter, but I was getting used to finding more and more needles. This was at the height of the pandemic, when there were no indoor spaces for street-involved folks to........
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