‘Community working together’ is the message for International Overdose Awareness Day
By Rick Garrick
THUNDER BAY — Fort William Chief Michele Solomon and Red Rock Indian Band’s Ron Kanutski highlighted the importance of community working together during Thunder Bay’s International Overdose Awareness Day gathering on Aug. 27. The gathering was held by the Thunder Bay Drug Strategy and Thunder Bay District Health Unit at Shelter House Thunder Bay with the theme of One Big Family, Driven by Hope.
“When we use that word overdose, sometimes I feel like we take away from the realities of this situation,” Solomon says. “The realities of this situation is that the drugs that people are finding on the streets are toxic drugs, they’re poisoning our people. Our people are dying from drugs that are toxic.”
Solomon says she worked in mental health and addictions for about 15 years before being elected as Chief in her community.
“And I’ve watched this issue evolve over that time,” Solomon says. “It started with T3s and Percocets and oxys, and then it became this issue of fentanyl and carfentanyl and the things that people are putting in the drug supply. So it’s really complex and I know there’s not one sector of the community that can address this matter alone, we really need everybody together to work together and put our minds and our hearts together to try and make this situation better — we really need all of us.”
Solomon says her community has also been impacted by the drug addiction and overdose issue, noting that Fort William is located “a stone’s throw” across the Kaministiquia River from Thunder Bay.
“This is such a prevalent issue in all of our communities right now and if we’re not talking about it and we’re not visible about it, then it can continue to go unchecked without things changing,” Solomon says. “And as it is, even with the awareness that is brought to it, it’s still something that seems to be a growing problem and doesn’t seem to get better, so I hope that coming together can at least bring some hope to people who are struggling and be a catalyst for some level of change.”
Kanutski, a registered social worker who also does mental health/addictions wellness presentations, says he received tobacco to speak at the International Overdose Awareness Day gathering.
“Sometimes I think it is better to just start looking around, less talking, more listening, more doing,” Kanutski says. “We talk a lot but we don’t do that much.”
Kanutski says he used to work at Shelter House Thunder Bay when it was on Donald Street.
“I was going to save the world and I failed,” Kanutski says.
Kanutski says he decided to save himself, so he put more energy into himself.
“If I can be a better me, then maybe I can be a better person to you or to you or to you,” Kanutski says. “If I can be a better me, then maybe I can rub some of that off on somebody else, and I wanted to surround myself with other people that were trying to be better (people). Each and every one of you are those people, and all together we can make a difference but we’ve got to do more doing, less talking. Efforts are seen by what we do, not by what we say.”
Kanutski says the Creator wants people to work together.
“He wants us to bring healing to our community and to our neighbours, to our family and to our friends,” Kanutski says. “This is a good life but for some it’s not, and if we can try to make their tomorrow just a little bit better, that’s what matters.”