In the eight years since B.C. declared a public health emergency because of deaths due to unregulated drug poisonings, more than 14,000 people have died in our province.
In our ongoing Stories@IH series, we share voices from the toxic drug crisis. In this story, meet Cheryl, a peer volunteer from Vernon who has found hope and purpose in helping others who use drugs.
Located on a quiet city street in Vernon, My Place is a modern but non-descript four-story building. Opened in July 2019 and run by Turning Points Collaborative Society (TPCS), My Place offers safe, secure housing for unhoused individuals. Staff are available 24/7 to provide a variety of supports for building residents.
Cheryl is sitting on a worn couch under a window, her legs crossed beneath her, in a quiet room with books and games. She’s dressed comfortably in a leather jacket, sweater, skirt and boots. Next to her is a basket of her possessions—she’s moving to a new room in the building today.
It’s here that Cheryl lives, works and has her community. For the past four years, she’s been a familiar face both at My Place and at Interior Health’s downtown Vernon mental health and substance use clinic. As a peer volunteer, she greets people who enter the clinics, hands out harm reduction supplies, supports people within the overdose prevention site, and provides information to clients about resources.
“The more jobs the better for me,” she smiles. “My jobs keep me busy—I don’t have to stop, and I don’t have to think. What I’m doing is for future generations so it’s not so hard for them.”
As a child growing up in Kentville, NS, Cheryl says she was a bookworm and a good kid. When her parents split up, she moved in with her father and his girlfriend. At 12 years old, she became a ward of the Nova Scotia government. From then on, she bounced from an aunt’s home to one foster home to another.
“The majority of people I’ve worked with have been in the foster system. It makes you wonder what my life would have been like had I had a stable home,” she says without a hint of bitterness. And like so many with lived and living experiences with addictions, trauma has marked Cheryl’s life.
After aging out of foster care, Cheryl earned a diploma in human services. She, her then husband, and their kids moved out to Vernon in 2004. After moving to the Okanagan, her husband was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis–a painful condition of the spine–and was prescribed painkillers, including Oxycontin.
“He would give me his Oxy because I was so sore from working all the time since he wasn’t able to work as a surveyor,” Cheryl recalls. “One day we got pills that weren’t Oxy, but a mixture of heroin and fentanyl. It all started right there.”
While her husband was able to recover, Cheryl did not. He moved back to Nova Scotia with their children. Alone and now in addiction, Cheryl struggled with her health and poverty, and her life spiralled.
Since her most challenging moments, Cheryl has discovered purpose in helping others. Along with her volunteering, she also works with staff to help inform how to run the clinics in a way that makes it accessible to the people it is meant to serve.
“Cheryl is such a strong voice,” says Keri Locheed, peer coordinator with Interior Health. “There are just so many points of view from people who use substances. The public might not be ready for Cheryl’s voice, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t hear it. There’s no voice like hers.”
For the past year, Cheryl has also immersed herself in an art project, a series of masks painted by residents and clients from the clinic.
“The masks are about the people who are still out there and need help,” Cheryl explains. “The number of people killed by toxic drugs is going up and is closer and closer to our doorstep every day.
“When someone passes away, they were there, and now they’re gone, and someone else has taken their place. Your mind doesn’t process it. You don’t go through grief anymore. You’re desensitized and we shouldn’t be. You’re just waiting to see who’s next.”
When asked what she wants the public to know about addiction, Cheryl says it’s much more complicated than what it seems. “It’s not only physically draining when you try to stop [using], but also mentally draining as you’re going back into all of your problems, back to when you were you’re traumatized the very first time,” she shares.
Today, she’s installing some of the masks in the overdose prevention site room at My Place. “I want people to see that there are kids, adults, professionals and the Joe’s and Jane’s you see very day who are using drugs. It’s not just the guy hiding behind the building.”
Reach your local Mental Health and Substance Use Centre for community-based supports by calling 310-MHSU (6478).
If you’re experiencing feelings of hopelessness and thoughts of self-harm, you can call one of these numbers. These services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays:
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