Daniel O’Brien

Opinion: Cuts have left Edmonton's homeless with nowhere to go Too few Edmontonians are aware a tidal wave of recent funding cuts and closures has wiped the city’s daytime drop-in spaces off the map.

edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu... #yeg #yegcc #ableg

Opinion: Closing Alberta harm-reduction hubs is going backwards By shuttering low barrier and harm reduction services, we are going backwards, not forwards.

Disappointed to hear the Alberta government cut funding to Turning Point in Red Deer, the city’s longstanding harm reduction agency. This leaves a big gap in support for people who use drugs and/or are unstably housed in Red Deer. edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

“Albertan’s have had to learn new ways to survive the overdose crisis, including by forging new ways to be a family.” Check out this heartbreaking & inspiring story of one family’s struggle to overcome shame and find common cause through harm reduction.

Episode 54: Get Sober or Get Dead — Crackdown Podcast Alberta is the involuntary treatment capital of Canada. Since 2006, the province has encouraged parents to waive their children's rights and force them into detox as part of the Protection of Children...

Alberta is the involuntary treatment capital of Canada. On episode 54, we meet Angie & her son Brandon. When Brandon got wired as a teen, Angie had a difficult choice to make: should she force him to sober up? If she did, what would happen to their relationship? www.crackdownpod.com/episodes/epi...

The CCSA report shares youth perspectives on substance use prevention, stressing the need for non-judgmental, harm reduction approaches. Youth call for peer-led, culturally relevant supports, better education, and involvement in shaping programs that reflect their realities.

bit.ly/4dgELV6

Compassionate Intervention Act - Our reaction | AMA The government has introduced Bill 53 Compassionate Intervention Act for mandatory addiction treatment.

Powerful statement from @albertadoctors.bsky.social on proposed forced abstinence legislation (“Compassionate Intervention Act”).
www.albertadoctors.org/news/publica...

💔 My friend Lana Greene’s son TJ died died by suicide in Edmonton Remand Centre after being denied mental health & addiction care. A fatality inquiry revealed systemic failures, including missed psychiatric care & lack of treatment access. We need prison reform and better health supports for inmates

Canadian Civil Liberties Association urges Alberta to scrap Compassionate Intervention Act Non-profit org calls for focus on approaches supporting recovery without breaching freedoms

www.canadianlawyermag.com/news/general...

"the proposed law may violate fundamental rights, threaten personal autonomy and individual rights to make decisions about one’s body and healthcare, and force people into treatment based on subjective assessments without their consent." #ableg

individuals will also be reluctant to call emergency services in the cases of an overdose, which can increase risk of death.

This will undermine the ability of all these providers to establish trusting relationships and provide effective care to their voluntary patients.

I was shocked to see the range of professionals that can apply to have ppl apprehended and confined under bill 53- nurses, physicians, psychologists, social workers, addictions counsellors, paramedics. People using substances will be discouraged from disclosing their use to all care providers.

Glad you got this through the FOIP at least!

B.C. First Nations die from toxic drugs at nearly seven times the rate of others First Nations women are even more severely affected by the toxic drug crisis, dying at nearly 12 times the rate of other female B.C. residents

First Nations people in B.C. dying at nearly 7x the rate of others in B.C., underscoring the continued disproportionate impact of the toxic drug crisis on Indigenous people as the province marks nine years of the public health emergency
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/e0c398c...