Kat Wahamaa lost her son to a drug toxicity death in 2016. Seven years later, she is working to prevent that loss from spreading.
“It’s the tragedy of our family,” Wahamaa said. “Having lost my son, I just don’t want it to be the tragedy for other people. I don’t want them to have to go, ‘Oh, I get it’ by losing their child.”
Wahamaa was an artist-in-residence in Maple Ridge before she became involved with overdose community action teams and Moms Stop the Harm.
When she came back to live in the Mission area, she joined the Mission Overdose Community Action Team (MOCAT) and later accepted the project coordinator position.
Mission had 33 drug toxicity deaths in 2022 and paramedics responded to 456 overdose calls in the area during that time period.
“We’ve got a way to go but I’m still hopeful. I’m always hopeful,” she said. “I just don’t want anyone to have to lose someone they love before they see what’s going on.”
MOCAT is a coalition of different groups including Fraser Health, Mission Community Services and the Friendship Centre, as well as individuals with lived experience. The Mission group is part of a network of community action teams throughout the province.
“Every community has a different approach but for the most part, we’re trying to do what we can to address the issue and look for gaps in services,” Wahamaa said.
READ MORE: Mission suffers 33 overdose deaths in 2022
According to the BC Coroners Service, 83 per cent of illicit drug toxicity deaths occurred indoors in 2022 with 55 per cent in private residences. The 30-59 age group generated 70 per cent of the 2,272 overdose deaths in BC last year.
“Unfortunately, when people in general look at this issue, they’re still thinking of the Downtown [Vancouver] Eastside, and that isn’t who’s dying,” Wahamaa said. “Not to discount what’s happening there but there are a whole host of individuals and organizations who have come together to do the things that need to be done to keep people alive.”
Wahamaa says the word ‘overdose’ is a misnomer because often deaths aren’t a result of taking too much of a drug but rather a poisoned supply.
“The stigma is killing people because they don’t want to let people know that they’re using or relapsing and using again,” Wahamaa said. “That’s really a vulnerable time.”
According to Wahamaa, the toxic drug crisis also creates an unintended ripple effect in the affected communities.
“There’s intergenerational trauma with the people that are being harmed,” Wahamaa said. “All of the service providers that are bringing people back from the dead over and over are having trauma and they take that to their family.”
“I’ve lost my son, but his two little boys have lost their father and we know that losing a parent is terribly traumatic for kids. That’s happening all over the place, and some kids are losing not only one parent, but both parents.”
Wahamaa says the most challenging part of advocacy work is the apathy from the public and lack of political will from governments.
“I want politicians to follow the evidence,” she said. “If this is a health emergency, then treat it like one.”
A lot of what MOCAT provides is basic support. During the pandemic, the team organized a community garden project, the ‘Masks We Wear’ art exhibit at Gallery 202, and provided information and naloxone training at the farmers market.
In January, SAFE Mission (Safety, Advocacy, Friendship, Education) was incorporated for people who use substances to provide opportunities for self-advocacy, peer support, and education in the community.
MOCAT’s arts-based dialogue will continue with a play set to debut on the seventh anniversary of the toxic drug public health emergency on April 14. “Precarious” is a community play made up of a collage of vignettes, songs, poems.
Play-building sessions are Tuesdays from 7:15 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. at Copper Hall in Mission.
Shine Bright Mission is drawing closer – on Friday, March 3 from 7 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. Downtown Mission will be lit up with 16 unique lights that symbolize important places and organizations in the community, thank first responders, and support local businesses. This community celebration will feature live music, children’s activities, and lots of lights.
@dillon_white
dillon.white@missioncityrecord.com
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