Brant County, Ont. mothers want change after children die of drug overdoses

Two Brant County, Ont. strangers have been brought together by tragedy.

A pair of mothers are joining forces after both their children died as a result of drug overdoses. Now they’re pushing for change so other families don’t have to deal with the same loss.

Krista Cabral from Paris, Ont. lost her 33-year-old daughter Brittani Silvestre last year.

Silvestre got clean during her pregnancy, but later fell back into substance use. Although, she was in the process of getting better again.

One day in September 2023, Cabral voiced concerns to her daughter’s counsellor.

“I’m angry with her for her choices, but I’m also terrified that one of these days the police are going to come to my door in the middle of the night and tell me that she’s gone. And that night, they were knocking on my door,” said Cabral, who is now raising her granddaughter.

In Brantford, Ont., just 10 weeks later, Bernice Liverance learned the same devastating news about her 33-year-old son, Kourie Liverance.

“I thought ‘OK, maybe he’s sleeping. He just didn’t hear me.’ As soon as I opened the door, I knew,” said Bernice, after discovering her son died from a mixture of fentanyl and carfentanil. “The amounts that were in his system were just unreal.”

Both Liverance and Cabral found each other through the grieving process, having gone through something so similar, so close together.

Opioid overdoses in Brantford-Brant

They aren’t alone either, even in the County of Brant.

The area’s Medical Officer of Health says it has had a higher rate of overdose-related fatalities when compared with the rest of the province over the last five years.

“There have been 30 opioid-related deaths in Brant between January and June of this year, which again, is higher than the provincial average,” said Dr. Rebecca Comley.

Important statistics:

• Between January and June of this year, there were 203 Emergency Department (ED) visits for opioid overdoses in Brantford-Brant, which is higher than the number of ED visits for the same period in 2023 (142).
• The rate of ED visits in the first six months of 2024 was higher in Brantford-Brant when compared to the province as a whole.
• There were 30 opioid-related deaths in Brantford-Brant throughout the first six months of 2024, which is lower than the number of deaths for the same period in 2023 (38).
• The rate of fatalities in the first six months of 2024 was higher in Brantford-Brant compared to Ontario as a whole.
• Most opioid-related deaths (77%) in Brantford-Brant occurred in private residences.

Creating change

Comley is urging people to remember that even if naloxone has been administered, someone who has overdosed is not in the clear.

“The effect of an overdose can continue after the naloxone has been administered. So it’s always important for individuals to call for help, get support such that an overdose does not cause a death,” said Comley.

It’s a sentiment being echoed by both mothers. So much so that Cabral is pushing to create Brittani’s Law because her daughter died even after naloxone was administered to her twice in the same day. 

“I would like a family member or an ambulance to be called when someone has been narcanned,” said Cabral. “I think had the ambulance showed up, she would have gone to the hospital and she would not have had the opportunity to do more drugs, or if they had called me, she would not have gone back to use more drugs.”

Now, both mothers are focused on overdose awareness and making sure others don’t suffer.

“We’re doing this all for you guys,” said Liverance.

Cabral added that her daughter would love to know they are doing this to save lives.

“We couldn’t save theirs,” she said. “But we’re going to try to help save others.”

As part of their awareness efforts, that’s part of what they’re fundraising for. They want to create a mural in Brantford with painted wings that include the names of local people who have lost their lives to fentanyl.

The hope is to ensure those people are not forgotten.