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Province announces $1.5 million in funding to combat overdose epidemic

Eighteeen B.C. cities get money to increase support for users, and access to harm reduction supplies
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The province is providing money to fund community action teams aimed to address the opioid overdose epidemic. File photo

Eighteen B.C. communities are set to receive funding for specialized “community action teams” to address the ongoing opioid overdose epidemic.

A day after the B.C. Coroners Service revealed that more than 1,400 people died of drug overdoses in 2017, B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Judy Darcy announced Thursday that the province was committing $1.5 million to the project.

“Each community action team will play a crucial role in targeting resources where they are needed most on the ground in their communities,” Darcy said in a news release. “This is critical to saving lives and connecting people to treatment and recovery.”

The province said the money aims to address the unsafe drug supply, provide “pro-active support,” and increase access to harm reduction materials and naloxone.

The communities set to receive funding are:

  • Vancouver
  • Richmond
  • PowellRiver
  • Surrey
  • Langley
  • Abbotsford
  • MapleRidge
  • Chilliwack
  • Victoria
  • CampbellRiver
  • Nanaimo
  • Duncan
  • PortAlberni
  • Kelowna
  • Kamloops
  • Vernon
  • PrinceGeorge
  • FortStJohn

More to come