In 2014, John spent the Christmas holidays alone, curled up in a ball on his bed. He’d run through his monthly opioid prescription in the first 12 days of December—like he’d done every month for the last two years of his life—and had to wait until the new year before he could go back to […]
Addiction
Posted inNews + Opinion
Matthew MacDougall says dignity saves lives
Sometimes, when you’re talking about addictions recovery, you hear of the need to do a 180 degree turn to change one’s life. In my case, it was a deeply-rooted 360 spin. I was born in Halifax and spent the majority of my childhood and teens there. I graduated from St. Patrick’s High School in 2001. […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Out of The Cold Shelter needs volunteers, a location and in a dream world—to not be necessary
Cameron sits in the warm restaurant, staring at their empty coffee cup. They fumble their hands in their pockets and leave a small pile of change next to the cold mug, then head out the door. Cameron pulls their jacket tight and makes the trek down snow-covered Spring Garden Road, looking for a refuge from […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
OPS opposition and government inaction in Halifax’s addiction services
I am a white, privileged, female physician who has never injected drugs. I serve some of the most vulnerable people in our city. I care deeply about their safety, dignity and well-being. Before medicine, I worked in the downtown east side of Vancouver, and in my early years of practice I served Calgary’s inner-city as the […]
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Q&A with Leah Genge a family physician on the front-line of Nova Scotia’s addiction services
With news that HaliFIX Overdose Prevention Society has gotten a federal exemption to set up their Overdose Prevention Site in the basement of 2164 Gottingen Street—Below Direction 180, where Leah Genge is the physician—Genge shares some insight on what an OPS actually is, who it serves and why it’s important. The Coast: What is an […]
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A proposed overdose prevention site on Gottingen raises concerns about location and consultation from community members
More than 40 community members and overdose prevention site advocates attended a meeting at Halifax North Memorial Library this week to discuss the location of a proposed Overdose Prevention Site in the community. Members of the African Nova Scotian and greater north end community spoke about the historic importance of the proposed location at the […]
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Province announce over $1 million in new funding to combat fentanyl
The provincial government is putting an extra $1 million towards trying to prevent a fentanyl-fuelled opioid crisis in Nova Scotia. In a press release sent out Friday, the Department of Health and Wellness announced details of the increased spending, including $564,000 for expanding access to the overdose-countering naloxone drug kits to pharmacies, police and health care organizations […]
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The holidays make me reflect on my mother
[Image-1] My Mom was a lovely, caring woman who meant well, but she was an alcoholic. She would swear that she would give her life to protect me. But she was an alcoholic. I tried to help. It’s hard, though, when others around you are enablers. As a kid growing up, I knew Christmas would mean […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Dangerous crowd threatens medical clinic
[Image-1] One of the city’s busiest health clinics is at risk of gang retaliation after expanding its operations to new neighbourhoods. Direction 180’s mobile clinic has been helping some of the most vulnerable members of the HRM for the last two years. They’ve been able to increase their service to four different locations around the […]
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Terminal disease
Brenda Hurlbert left her father’s funeral in New Brunswick with a few of his most prized possessions. Hurlbert sat down at a video lottery terminal on the Digby ferry headed back to her home just outside Yarmouth. It wasn’t long before she’d blown through all of her money—all but a coin collection willed to her […]