An on the ground look at the toxic drug crisis in the Cowichan Valley 10 years later
Harm reduction workers in the Cowichan Valley reflect on the lives lost and changes needed to address the ongoing crisis.
Overdose emergency
Overdoses from toxic street drugs was first declared a public health emergency in 2016. The Discourse has been reporting on its ongoing impact on people who use drugs in our communities.
Nanaimo’s toxic drug emergency at 10 years
Three residents share their stories about how the toxic drug crisis has impacted them.
‘Evicted to nowhere’: Cowichan Valley residents push for permanent solution for unhoused locals
As a temporary winter shelter in Duncan closes its doors, unhoused residents are faced with few other options for housing.
‘No one in our community is disposable’: Island Health and community call on North Cowichan to rethink sheltering sites
Designated overnight sheltering sites in Somenos marsh are ‘increasingly dangerous’, outreach groups say.
Cowichan Valley communities seek to expand Duncan’s ‘proven’ Village housing model
Duncan applies for funding to add six more cabins to The Village, while North Cowichan evaluates land for two potential new Village sites.
Nanaimo city council votes down proposed drug policy letter
At the Dec. 1 Nanaimo City Council meeting, a motion to send a letter to the province asking it to reexamine its approach to "the ongoing addiction crisis" was voted down.
‘They could have lessened the harm’: Advocates worry moving Lewis Street encampment endangers residents
North Cowichan said it will service and provide ‘temporary’ sheltering sites, while Cowichan Valley sees a spike in overdoses.
Motion to close Nanaimo’s Overdose Prevention Site withdrawn
New motion will ask province to reexamine its policy on responding to the overdose crisis.
‘Like a bomb dropping’: Safer supply changes leave patients struggling for stability
A local doctor says the province’s new safer supply rules are more about politics than public health.
Duncan protestors want harsher punishments and forced treatment for drug users. Will it solve the underlying issues?
Unhoused local hopes to ‘wake people up’ to homeless realities, as tensions flare over how best to address theft and vandalism while supporting marginalized people.