The Yukon Coroner’s Service is investigating four deaths that occurred between April 15 and 18 in the territory.

All four deaths appear to be related to substance use, the service reported Apr. 20. Two occurred in Whitehorse and two in Yukon communities.

Last Monday, the Star spoke with Brontë Renwick-Shields, the Blood Ties Four Directions Centre’s executive director.

Referring to drug overdoses, Renwick-Shields pointed out that, “We don’t know enough details about these deaths to specifically know if that was the cause of death in these circumstances.

“However, in terms of overdose, of course, we want to encourage people to take as many precautions as possible. Use a supervised consumption site if they can. Avoid using alone.

“Carry Naloxone, have their drugs checked and look out for their loved ones and family members. Take care of each other,” Renwick-Shields added.

“Start with a small amount of whatever substance they’re using before using more and use options such as the National Overdose Response line, if they can’t be around other people, and then reaching out, obviously for support when they need it.”

Renwick-Shields advocates creating an accessible, safe drug supply program that meets the needs of Yukoners who use substances and is available throughout the territory.

“We also need to look at the ways in which we currently criminalize people who use substances and see the ways in which that has increased harms and decreased people’s engagement with support services and willingness to be open around their substance use and seek support when they need it due to the fear of criminalization and the stigma that comes with something being illegal,” she said.

She was asked what role the Yukon government can play in helping resolve the crisis.

“One of the issues that we run into when running a drug tracking program is that we find a substance in someone’s drugs that they may not be expecting, they may not want, but we don’t have the alternative necessarily of directing them to a safe supply program where they could access that substance without those contaminants,” Renwick-Shields pointed out.

“And so they are faced with the decision of continuing to use that substance with those risks, or dispose of it, which is not always an option for someone who has a dependency. So that is a barrier to the prevention of harm, in our perspective.”

When it comes to addiction treatment and prevention in the Yukon, Renwick-Shields believes more can be done.

“When we look at a crisis like this, it’s really important to understand that there’s never going to be a point where we reached – we have people who are dying. We’re never going to be doing enough. We have to always be pushing ourselves to do more.

“And I think that what we’ve heard from a lot of community members is that people are looking for more options for treatment that include things like on-the-land experiences and longer-term treatment programs and products that include family supports.”

“Also, looking at what kind of aftercare supports do we provide for people who are using who are leaving treatment, in terms of housing, in terms of ongoing support and connection.

“I think those are really critical components when we address this.”

Regarding prevention, Renwick-Shields said, “That comes down to two different things from my perspective, and one of those is education and the other is the reduction of stigma.

“So we want to create a community where people can, if they are using substances or they are curious about substance use, they feel that they can talk about it in a safe way that is non-judgmental, where they’re going to feel supported.

“And I think that goes a long way to safety and also to preventing harms if someone does use substances.”

When asked what approach should be taken regarding youth experimenting with drugs, Renwick-Shields replied, “In terms of reducing harms associated with substance use when it comes to youth, something that is really important is that we create a safe space where you can ask questions and access information and understand risks associated with substance use that doesn’t cause shame, fear or judgment.

“And I think that we’ve seen that is proven through research, that creating safe spaces like that can decrease harms associated with it, regardless of whether a user decides to use substances in their future or not.”

Renwick-Shields is convinced affordable housing is a “huge component” of combating this social problem.

“We know that the risk of overdose increases when people are homeless or people don’t have access to health care, when they don’t have access to regular social supports, and don’t have access to education, those types of factors.

“And so these are all important factors in prevention, beyond just the direct examples such as Naloxone.”

Renwick-Shields said the solution to cutting off the supply of illicit drugs is providing a safe supply of drugs.

“In order to get drugs that are unpredictable, that are unregulated that we’re seeing involved in these deaths out of the community, we need to be providing people with a safe regulated supply.

“We need to look at how we view substance use as a community. We know that people use drugs in our community, will continue to; how are we keeping them safe? How are we keeping people alive?”

For people who may want to stop using, who may want to take a respite from using, Renwick-Shields said, “we need appropriate, meaningful supports for those folks.

“And we also need support for people who may not want to stop using, who may not be able to stop using – we have to be providing supports at all those levels.

“So that includes everything from a treatment program to safe supply to supervised consumption site, and people may access those throughout their life in different ways.

“And those also include increasing our social protective factors like housing, like health, like mental health services. All of those things have to come in with that, and it’s not as simple as criminalization.”

Renwick-Shields added, “Our hearts go out to the loved ones and family members who are grieving right now.

“We know that this impacts the whole territory when we lose Yukoners, and just hoping that people are reaching out for support and what they need.”

Meanwhile, NDP Leader Kate White pointed out in question period in the legislature last Tuesday that the government has budgeted an extra $217,000 for the RCMP for “substance use emergency response.” She questioned what the money will be used for, and why the RCMP are responding to substance use emergencies.

Justice and Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee retorted, “If the member opposite thinks that the RCMP has absolutely no role to play whatsoever in responding to the substance use health emergency, then they are not recognizing the important partner that the RCMP is here in our territory.”

McPhee mentioned Car 867, which pairs a psychiatric nurse with a trained RCMP officer who respond to calls – including substance use emergencies – as one of the measures implemented by her government.

She then listed other measures, including an overdose outreach team, expanded opioid treatment services, access to a safer drug supply, Blood Ties’ downtown supervised consumption site, two mental wellness summits and improved access to Naloxone kits.

Speaking to reporters afterward, NDP House Leader Lane Tredger said, “We’ve had a war on drugs for decades. And it hasn’t worked. We’re having more overdoses now than we’ve ever had before.

“We know that experts, advocates and people who use drugs are all saying that it’s a health issue. It needs to be treated as a health issue and not as a criminal issue,” Tredger said.

‘So that means that our response has to be through things like mental health supports, things like supervised consumption sites, things like safe supply, and not through policing.”

Tredger added that funding should be going toward expanding the hours of the supervised consumption site, which is currently only open Monday to Friday from noon to 9 p.m.

White said the RCMP are not the right agency to handle overdoses.

“They respond to many overdoses, because they’re there and they’re available.

“But people prefer not to call the RCMP because it is a justice issue. It means that someone has used illicit drugs. It just puts people in a really vulnerable situation,” Tredger said.

“My real concern is that the RCMP don’t need money for the emergencies like the substance use emergency. Organizations like Blood Ties need that money, or we need more harm reduction workers in rural communities. So that money could be spent somewhere else.”

White favours a substance use emergency team, but said, “There’s no way one team could deal with the crisis level in the territory.”

Multiple drug overdoses happen at the same time, White pointed out.

“It’s important to know that overdose doesn’t always lead to death, but overdose can lead to death.”

Regarding the recent deaths of 12- and 13-year-old girls to possible drug overdoses in Alberta, White said, “One of my concerns is that for young people who are looking to experiment, nothing is safe. Nothing is safe.”

Those seeking information regarding substance use can go to the Blood Ties website at https://bloodties.ca/

Its supervised consumption site is located at 6189 Sixth Ave. The entrance is off Fifth Avenue.

The National Overdose Response Service (NORS) number is 1-888-688-NORS (6677).