Winnipegger battling addiction says RAAM clinic turned him away
The province saw a large increase in overdose deaths in 2020 compared to 2019, and one addiction recovery organization said the problem is only getting worse.
One option for people struggling with opioid addiction is a Rapid Access to Addictions Medication clinic, or RAAM clinic.
Those clinics offer help without an appointment or referral, but some people say they were turned away at the door.
Less than two weeks ago, Katie Robson and her partner Spyder Porth were living in a tent near the Seine River.
The two are battling addictions to fentanyl, and reached out to St. Boniface Street Links for help in getting sober.
Last Tuesday, they lined up at one of Winnipeg’s RAAM clinics to get help but when Robson went in Porth didn't follow.
"Then all of a sudden other people were coming in, not my boyfriend. So, I asked, 'Where's Spyder? Where's my boyfriend?' and they said, 'Oh, he didn't get in’," said Robson.
RAAM clinics are drop in facilities for people looking to get help with addiction to high-risk substances like fentanyl and other opioids.
Suboxone is given to the patient so they can overcome their addiction without going through the pain of withdrawal symptoms.
Robson said Porth was turned away because the clinic didn't have the resources to help everyone in line.
"I wanted to do this together as a team, and for him to be turned away like that, it was unfair," said Robson.
Porth said he felt hopeless when he couldn't get into the clinic.
He said the withdrawal symptoms from fentanyl use isn't something you can just sleep off.
"Be sick for 10 to 14 days, and be extremely sick to the point where you can't even get up to get a glass of water. You know, it's deadly," said Porth.
St. Boniface Street Links does outreach with people struggling with homelessness and addiction.
Founder Marion Willis said the RAAM clinics do good work, but it's under-resourced and understaffed.
"We need RAAM clinics that are open all day long, seven days a week. We need 24/7 point of access," said Willis.
Data from Manitoba's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shows overdose deaths were up 87 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019.
Willis believes the uptick in homeless encampments around the city is directly related to the increase in opioid use.
Manitoba’s Health Minister Audrey Gordon said the province invested more than $800,000 to expand programming at the city's two RAAM clinics, but that's just one of the services available for people battling addiction.
"There are many others at the community level and at acute care facilities as well, and we will look at how to build a better and stronger network," said Gordon on Friday.
Robson said she and Porth have saved 107 lives with naloxone kits between the two of them.
"Our lives matter. We're addicts, yes, but those lives matter," said Robson.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.