Residents in the tri-reserve area suffering the effects of the opioid crisis are renewing their call for help.
Last week, the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations called for the federal and provincial governments to take action.
Yorkton Tribal Council Chief Isabel O’Soup is asking politicians to see the problem for themselves.
“We invite them to any of our communities,” O’Soup said. “I would just say, I would challenge them to come out to our communities to see the problem first hand.”
Government figures show that more than 8,000 deaths in Canada were caused by opioids in 2016.
Tyrone Cote, 29, nearly became one of those statistics.
He said he was addicted to opioids for 10 years, but has been clean for five months.
“I lost my mom when I was 20,” Cote said. “She died of drugs. She was pretty heavy into it.”
Darlene Bryant runs the Cote First Nation Health Centre and says help is needed for those addicted.
“Our frontline workers are struggling each day to try and find ways to help them,” she said.
Along with addiction and overdose, dangers can also include infections and other health issues.
Based on reports from CTV Nathaniel Dove
