Families for Addiction Recovery "FAR"
100 Consilium Place M1H 3E3 Toronto, ON, Canada

This isn't very Eastery, but will resonate with far too many families affected by addiction.

Thank you Manina Murphy for sharing the loss of your daughter with us and your advocacy work. We grieve with you. Read More: https://tinyurl.com/fzf5bdt4

That’s one reason he launched the National Overdose Response Service hotline, in collaboration with Grenfell Ministries in Ontario and Brave Technology Coop in B.C. to reach Canadians coast-to-coast. 'We are basically going into their own homes and monitoring them, says Ghosh, adding it’s an especially important service for people who are using alone.'" You don't have to use alone. Call NORS first: 1-888-688-6677

Please submit your input to us at [email protected]. Thanks!

It may surprise you but regarding substance-related poisonings in Canada... "Alcohol was the most commonly reported substance. Where the use of more than one substance was reported, the most frequent combination was alcohol with cannabis."

Meanwhile in Ontario where the opioid task force was disbanded years ago: "On the last weekend of January, TPH (Toronto Public Health) announced that paramedic services received the highest number of suspected opioid overdose calls in a 24-hour period, attending to 40 incidents and three deaths."

"Regardless of the pathway, 'a vicious cycle may be at play where each disorder maintains or exacerbates the other,' the Psychiatric News Alert report quoted from the study."

Someone’s child, sibling, parent, cousin...

Message for families: "King is intimately familiar with addiction. For years, he used any substance that didn’t require a needle, and remembers feeling feral, as his addiction superseded any care for himself or those around him. Without his family, who made him feel loved and supported, 'I would not have crawled out from where I was,' he said."

In two months the number of overdose deaths in Toronto has increased 36% from 28 to 38. "Drug Alert: Toronto Drug Strategy Secretariat High number of overdose deaths in January February 12, 2021... Toronto Paramedic Services attended 38 calls for suspected opioid overdose deaths in January 2021. This is the highest number of opioid overdose-related deaths reported by paramedics in a month since we began monitoring in 2017. This follows several devastating months of previous record highs: in both October and November 2020, paramedics attended 28 monthly suspected opioid overdose deaths, and in December 2020, they attended 34. Visit toronto.ca/health/overdosestats for more information. Note that Toronto Paramedic Services data does not capture all drug-related deaths. Detailed information on the drugs involved in the deaths in January is not available. However, teal/turquoise coloured drugs (including shades of blue) have been linked to some overdoses at The Works, and there are reports of red/burgundy coloured drugs connected with overdoses in the Northwest of the city. Toronto's Drug Checking Service has recently found higher amounts of fentanyl, carfentanil, and central nervous system depressants, like etizolam and xylazine (an animal tranquilizer) in fentanyl samples. When central nervous system depressants are used in combination with opioids, the risk of dangerous suppression of vital signs is increased (e.g. slowing down of breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate)."

Strength to all of our families bearing unbearable losses. Thanks to them and the Globe and Mail for raising awareness. #endoverdose #notonemore

"Judicious use of stimulants may help patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and comorbid substance use disorder (SUD) stay in addiction treatment programs, new research shows."

"Legislative changes will make naloxone an unscheduled drug, meaning naloxone overdose kits can be sold at any retail outlets, making it easier to access."

"The biggest cause for alarm, said Dr. David Gratzer, a psychiatrist at CAMH, continues to be the heightened levels at which Canadians are binge-drinking through the pandemic. CAMH’s latest survey suggests 25.7 per cent of Canadians are engaging in heavy episodic drinking, up from 19 per cent in pre-pandemic 2019, according to Statistics Canada data."

The stigma is real. Suffer the students with mental health conditions.

Thank-you Chris Cull for sharing your pain, #trauma and remarkable journey to recovery. #recoveroutloud "To anyone out there going through a hard time that feels like they can't escape it, just remember that nothing lasts forever. It may take some time, but I promise it can get better. Just focus on moving forward everyday and I promise you will reach the light at the end of the tunnel."

Housing the homeless. COVID has shown us where there is a will there is a way. "So, my question is this. When we have come through this crisis, are we prepared to push people back out to where they were, on the streets and in shelters? Or are we ready to accept that we have the solution to homelessness in our hands? We just need the moral and political will to make it happen."

"Schmidt added that he knows of 'several individuals that have relapsed during this time, some with a good bit of sobriety and clean time.' One person, Schmidt said, had been sober almost 20 years but lived in a rural area and lacked the resources (with no Internet and poor cellphone service) to connect virtually."

Oregon beats Canada in drug policy reform. Who would have thought? #decrirminalize

Click to read our FAR 2020 e-bulletin ~ our impact, event announcements and more.

There are a lot of webinars out there. This is one of the best! Thanks Canadian Public Health Association for including the voice of lived experience and to all panelists for your insights. A special shoutout to our friend, Gord Garner from Community Addictions Peer Support Association for your wisedom. Gord, we share your fear.

A heart wrenching and excellent article on the shortcomings of the Good Samaritan Overdose Act.

#RecoverOutLoud and give back to your community. Addiction is treatable! Recovery is possible! #NAAW

Thank-you Mayor John Tory. We are anxious to discuss it with you. 'Discussions around decriminalizing illicit drugs are ongoing at both the City, provincial and federal level. The mayor is anxious to have further discussions on this issue, and is willing to discuss any options that are introduced by medical health professionals that will help save lives,' a spokesperson for Toronto Mayor John Tory told VICE World News in an email."

Great news Vancouver! Thanks for the precedent for other Canadian cities. "He said two important details of any decriminalization plan will be threshold limits how much is considered personal possession and whether sharing or selling small amounts will still be considered criminal."

#NAAW - addiction is not a choice. It was a shock but we talked about it, I talked to Liam about it and he was trying. But he was tired. He was exhausted with feeling how he was feeling he felt so much shame, which is just awful. He felt shame for something he didn’t have to be ashamed of.

Canada, we can change this. It is shameful.

Learn More: https://www.farcanada.org/naaw2020/ #NAAW #ChangeBeginsWithMe

Learn how to share your journey to make change.

"Actor and Days of Our Lives star Billy Flynn vividly recalls taking his first drink with some friends at fourteen years old. Even after his mom called the police on him for being drunk, he thought to himself, "this feels cool." In his teenage years, Billy started to experience all of the consequences that come with more severe drug use." Listen to Billy's story.

It's National Family Caregivers' Month. Make sure you are putting on your own oxygen mask first. Practice a little self-care today. I was not taking care of myself in the way that I should because I was so consumed by trying to save her that, you kind of lose yourself, Clement said. If you don’t take the steps to take care of yourself, which I didn’t know how to do at that point I didn’t have a support group, I didn’t have people to talk to, I didn’t know what to do; I was literally grasping at straws, telling my job to fire me if they had to, but I needed to go find my little sister somewhere on the street, you know, it’s just horrific.

November is Caregiver Month! In recognition of the 24/7 efforts of all caregivers, FAR will be sharing weekly videos containing support & practical tips. Share with your own friends and family, every one needs a helping hand these days.

Here's some good news.

November is National Family Caregivers Month. As the uncertainty of COVID-19 continues, many are experiencing increased stress and isolation. However despite the current pandemic, caregiving-as-usual is required. Being a family caregiver is difficult in the best of circumstances and deserves recognition and awareness, especially during these unprecedented times.

This is a problem in Canada too. "Laws in Pennsylvania and many other states make it difficult for a family to get psychiatric care for someone who doesn't want it; it can only be imposed on the person if he or she poses an immediate threat, says Angela Kimball, advocacy and public policy director at National Alliance on Mental illness. By that point, it's often law enforcement, rather than mental health professionals, who are called in to help."

"Her message to other addicts: they matter. 'There’s a beautiful soul underneath addiction,' says Robinson. She made her decision to stop one day and never looked back leaning heavily on her faith. For others intense therapy is needed." #recoveroutloud

Help for those with mild-moderate symptoms. Those with moderate-severe symptoms, not so much. "Eaton said while there have been increased supports for mental health at both the provincial and federal levels, they’re focused on the worried well people who wouldn’t have had mental health issues before the pandemic."

"Genetics plays one role, and environment another. Instead of nature versus nurture, it’s nature plus nurture."

Your help needed: A request from Carrie Tait, Journalist with The Globe and Mail: The Globe and Mail has been contemplating ways to draw more attention to the overdose crisis, now several years in. In a few weeks, we're aiming to publish a package of stories, accompanied by a front page that we hope will jolt people awake to the enormity of human loss. We're hoping to fill the front page with short biographies of as many people as we can, from across the country, who we lost ...to overdoses in 2020. The intent is for the front page to be visually startling, and for these capsule biographies a goofy big brother, a talented painter, a construction worker, a newlywed, a mom known for her thunderous laugh to remind the public that every one of these numbers is a human life. That every one of these human lives had a family, had friends, had a story. Would you be able to help share my email/request with your network to see if anyone who lost a loved one to an overdose in 2020 would want to participate? If so, they can send me an email with the following: 1. Name and age of the person 2. Short bio (max around 150 words) highlighting what that person was best known for, what his/her passion was, a memorable quality -- whatever they feel really captures him/her 3. A photo if possible There is no hard deadline for this at the moment but I am aiming to collect most, if not all, the names soon. Any questions or suggestions, please don't hesitate to contact me. My cell is 587 433 2711 and email: [email protected] Thanks, Carrie Tait Office: 403 245 2711 Cell: 587 433 2711