Vancouver Island
International Overdose Awareness Day
Join us at the Parksville Community Park Picnic Shelter to honour and commemorate our loved ones lost to the ongoing toxic drug crisis. August 29th, 2026 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm. The theme for this year’s gathering is: Hope in Action: From Darkness to Light The first portion of the […]
How Street Dr. Jill Became BC’s Favourite Influencer
If elected officials won’t heed experts, the outreach physician says, maybe they’ll listen to her 100,000 followers. – From The Tyee – read the source article here “What does someone who is unhoused and sleeping outside do all day?” Dr. Jill Wiwcharuk asks in an Instagram video, standing in front of […]
‘Desperately missed’: Rally remembers those lost in 10 years of toxic drug emergency
‘Desperately missed’: Rally remembers those lost in 10 years of toxic drug emergency – by Wolfgang Depend from Times Colonist. Read the source article here Paula Beardy said her grandson Sheldon Beardy was a good kid.He would have turned 28 on Monday. But his mother died last year, and after […]
Vancouver Island and Oceanside Drug Deaths Summary, 2025
This is the updated data for Vancouver Island and Oceanside on the impact of the toxic drug poisoning crisis.
Film Screenings on the Mid-Island
On behalf of the VIU Harm Reduction Alliance, we invite you to join us in two upcoming events at Vancouver Island University on Tuesday, March 24th and Tuesday, April 14th, 2026. Tuesday, March 24th, 2026: Film Screening of “No Fixed Address: White Cart Memorial” at the Malaspina Theatre, VIU Nanaimo Campus. Doors open at 2:30pm, Q&A with the […]
Toxic soup: Today’s illicit drug supply is ever-changing — and deadly
Ten years after a declaration of a state of emergency around the toxic drug crisis, it continues to kill more people every month than died in an entire year when heroin dominated the market. by Jody Paterson @ Times Colonist – read the source article here PreviousNext Katy Booth with medetomidine […]
There is no evidence to support ‘homeless bus’ rumours
By Terry Ferrell – read the source editorial in the Cowichan Valley Citizen Rumours have persisted for years that unhoused people are being bused to the Comox Valley, en masse. The same unsubstantiated rumours have been circulating for just as long in virtually every community in B.C. It’s time to […]
It’s another winter season without a permanent shelter for those experiencing homelessness in Oceanside, as advocates continue to push for more services.
‘It’s atrocious out here:’ advocates continue pushing for permanent Oceanside winter shelter By Jordan Davidson – Nanaimo News Now – read the source article here Jan 9, 2026 Another winter without a full-time shelter for the unhoused in Oceanside is well underway. Oceanside Homelessness Task Force chair Shayla Day and other […]
Temporary winter shelter in Duncan gets funding from BC Housing
Shelter will run 24/7 from Nov. 16 to March 31 – From Ladysmith Chronicle – read the source article here Funding is in place that will see a temporary winter shelter set up at the site of the former Ramada Inn, located at 140 Trans-Canada Hwy. The Cowichan Valley Regional […]