Waterloo Region hosted a roundtable on opioid overdoses on Tuesday to discuss the growing crisis in the region.
The meeting was organized by members of the government and included representatives from community groups, police and residents who know how devastating addictions can be.
So far this year, Waterloo Regional Police say they’ve received 434 overdose calls and 42 people have lost their lives from an overdose.
Janice Walsh-Goddard lost her son, Iain, to an overdose last year.
“The coroner said it looked like he was trying to get his crystal meth and morphine fix but someone had laced it with fentanyl,” said Walsh-Goddard.
Her son was 25-years-old.
“We tried to get help for Iain for so many years but nobody would listen,” said Walsh-Goddard.
She wants to see more mental health education in high schools, more support for families and faster treatment options.
Larissa Ziesmann battled with an opioid addiction for 20 years and says having someone who stuck with her made a difference.
“You tend to isolate, people don’t want to talk about it, it’s a hard topic,” said Ziesmann.
“I think one of the only reasons I’m alive is that I got out of it before the fentanyl crisis hit,” she said.
Public Health says they are looking into supervised injection sites and that they are reviewing work done by other communities.
Public Health plans to have an update by the end of the year.
