The creators of a display at the Penticton Regional Hospital is intended to ignite a conversation about overdoses in the Interior Health region.
The Burning Bright display features 645 candles, one for each person that has died from illicit drug overdoses from January 2016 to December 2018.
sa国际传媒淲hat wesa国际传媒檙e hoping for this display is that it sparks a conversation around stigma. People very much misunderstand addiction, itsa国际传媒檚 not a moral issue,sa国际传媒� said Amanda Lavigne, the substance use regional practice lead for Interior Health. sa国际传媒淲e want people to know that stigma is a significant barrier for accessing health care services and accessing the services that they need. So we want this display to spark that conversation and bring light and attention to stigma in each of the communities, and ensuring that people are asking questions and being educated.sa国际传媒�
April marks the start of the fourth year since the declared a state of emergency because of the rising number of deaths due to overdoses in B.C. Of the 645 lives lost, 36 of them were in Penticton, 68 were in Vernon, 141 in Kamloops and 216 in the Central Okanagan, according to statistics provided by the B.C. Coroners Service.
sa国际传媒淲e wanted to have a way to continue the conversation and bring forward the light of all of the 645 lives that have been lost over the last three years,sa国际传媒� said Lavigne, of the Burning Bright display that will be in Penticton until the end of the week.
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The display, which also includes statistical information, is intended to start conversations in each of the communities it passes through about not just overdose deaths, but also the situations around the people who overdose. There is also space to leave a comment about a loved one.
sa国际传媒淔or the month of April wesa国际传媒檙e having the display travel between our four communities with the largest overdose rates in Interior Health,sa国际传媒� said Lavigne. sa国际传媒淪o wesa国际传媒檙e starting here in Penticton. The display is here from today until Friday, and then it goes on to Kelowna, Vernon and then Kamloops.sa国际传媒�
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