It Affects Us All
The overdose crisis is one of the most serious public health crises our country has ever faced.
Some More Than Others
Indigenous people are disproportionately affected by overdose and opioid-related deaths.
And It's Worsening
From 2016-2021, there were 5,000 opioid-related deaths per year. Post-COVID, it’s increasing toward 7,000.
“They talk about it like it's an overdose crisis when in fact it's basically genocide.”
Jennifer Lavalley et al. International Journal of Drug Policy, December 2024
2024 Yannies Winner!
When Talk Overdose evolved from a student project to an ongoing initiative, we were grateful to have received a microgrant from Youth Action Now. Founded in 2018 by late Member of Parliament and teacher, Paul Dewar, YAN has continued to fulfill Paul’s vision for an organization led by and for youth, since his passing.
In celebration of their 6th year anniversary on November 30th, 2024, YAN hosted a gala they described as “a red-carpet awards ceremony meets networking meets celebration event.” Fourteen awards were given to youth in the Ottawa region that were recipients of Youth Action Now’s microgrants over their history.
Meet Meet Jes Besharah
As someone who once lived on the streets, Jes understands the struggles and stigma faced by people who use opioids.
In this interview, Jes shares personal experiences with harm reduction and caring advice for young people.
For more videos of lived experience with opioids, visit our YouTube channel.
Meet Ophelia Cara
Ophelia Cara developed a dependence on opioids after receiving them for pain relief while in the hospital.
In this candid interview, she talks about her life, her experience with opioids, her feelings about harm reduction, and her personal advice for other young people.
For more videos of lived experience with opioids, visit our YouTube channel.
3rd Annual Let’s Talk Overdose Conference
After entering the Youth Case Competition for opioid intervention at UBC’s Let’s Talk Overdose conference in 2021, we provided UBC with a video update of our project’s progress in 2022. This year, UBC invited us back to provide one of the opening presentations and sit on a panel during one of the afternoon sessions. We provided another video update and answered questions from a moderator and from conference attendees.
If that sounds like amazing success, it’s important to remember that we didn’t win the competition in 2021. We were one of four finalists, which is a good outcome considering we were all middle and high school students at the time. The remaining finalists were university students, and some had larger teams.