New data reveals that B.C. struggling with addictions can be kept waiting for life-saving treatment. A real picture of government-funded rehab wait times varies widely, and in some places, it’s getting worse.
In the wake of the suspected overdose death of 16-year-old Gwynevere Staddon in Port Moody, attention was drawn to her family’s struggle to find her treatment in Canada.
Her mother, Veronica, believes that her daughter overdosed on fentanyl. She “completely suspects” that the synthetic drug was responsible for killing her child.
“My best friend, my daughter, my sweetheart baby … I will never stop missing you,” the mother wrote on Facebook. “My heart won’t stop breaking.
Staddon is one of the youngest victims of Canada’s fentanyl overdose crisis as tests confirm a lethal mix of heroin and fentanyl as the cause of death.
Staddon had been struggling with addiction for some time but had recently been clean. Her mother says every time her daughter sought help she would be sucked right back into the deadly habit.
“I guess I have to keep her alive to make sure this is maybe a turning point,” said Veronica Staddon. “That she didn’t die in vain possibly.”
The body of Staddon was found on Aug. 7 in a bathroom at a Port Moody Starbucks after she bought the drugs from a friend and ingested the drug cocktail.
More of this story from AWM:
Veronica knew that her daughter was a recovering addict. She had struggled with substance abuse for some time despite only being a young teenager. However, she had revealed to her mother that she had stopped using drugs for at least three weeks prior to her death.
“I’ve quit, so I’m OK now, Mom,” Veronica recalled Gwynevere saying. “It was calling out her name, and so she thought, ‘One more time.’ The one more time was the very last time.”
Veronica wanted to put her daughter into a rehab facility. However, there simply were no options available to her. Public clinics have a very long wait list and were not able to get Staddon into the facility before she died from a suspected overdose. The private facility was simply too expensive for Veronica and was out of her price range.
“If I don’t have $50,000 available, then they are not something I can use as a resource,” she told CBC. “The whole world is missing out on a born entertainer. Either that or a future politician.”
Veronica wants law enforcement to do a better job of keeping drug dealers off the streets. She also believes that rehabilitation programs need to be more widespread. Perhaps, President Biden can get Congress to invest in rehab facilities to help combat the opioid crisis that continues to ravage America to this day.
It is tragic that Gwynevere Staddon died at such a young age. Her mother is hoping that her story will help to raise awareness of the dangers posed by fentanyl and increase access to rehabilitation centers for those suffering from addiction. We need to work together as a society to make sure tragedies like this won’t happen again.
By investing in rehabilitation resources, making sure treatment is widely available, and clamping down on drug dealers- we can make a difference in the fight against opioid addiction. We must honor the memory of Gwynevere Staddon by doing what we can to help those struggling with addiction.
Source: AWM
