All language subtitles for Independent.Lens.S24E09.Love.in.the.Time.of.Fentanyl.720p.WEBRip.x264-BAE

- People are dying every day
from an unregulated,

contaminated drug supply.
[siren blares]

- Illegal opioid circulating
is contaminated with fentanyl.

- Overdose prevention sites
have made a positive impact

by saving lives.

- It's cool.
They've saved my life.

I've OD'd here.

- All of the staff here
are current drug users

or former, all right?

So they're people
with lived experience.

- A lot of people are suffering
very severe overdoses

and even death.

- The community has really
come together,

and it's just very heroic.

- We have become the family.

announcer: "Love in the Time
of Fentanyl,"

now only on
"Independent Lens."

♪♪

Colin: Uh, 50 East Hastings.
Overdose.

On the sidewalk.

Dana: Heart rate's very low.
25.

Colin: Uh, we just heard
there was an overdose

and ran to the situation.

And the person's blue.

And, uh, I'd say 50s.
[oximeter beeping]

We don't know.
They're unresponsive.

- One thousand one,
one thousand two,

one thousand three,
one thousand four...

Colin:
Yes, he's been given Narcan.

- Blood oxygen's starting
to increase.

Colin: Blood oxygen
is starting to increase.

- One thousand three,
one thousand four...

Colin: How many doses?
- Just one so far.

Colin: Just one so far.

Um...
- Talk to us. Come on, bud.

- Hey, hey.

- There we go. Hey, bud.

- Talk to me.
- I got the mask.

- Am I hit?

- Stay alert, my friend.
You overdosed.

- Yeah.
- Yes.

- Sometimes you don't need
any shot.

- Yep.
- Okay?

The most important thing
is oxygen.

- Oxygen.
I saw the numbers go up.

Colin: And he's getting--
sitting up now.

- There you go.
Welcome back.

[siren wailing]

- Sorry,
I can't hear that.

The ambulance is here.

Is it okay if I let you go?

Yeah. Okay, thank you.

[engine rumbling]

[distant sirens wailing]

[water running]

[light instrumental music]

♪ ♪

- Go on.

♪ ♪

- Come on.

You ready to do this?
You want to skate?

[dog barks]
All right, all right.

♪ ♪

[keys jangling]

woman: Yeah. Yeah.

Uh, just, you know,
at the time,

Insite was overwhelmed.

We needed more sites.

And we couldn't wait to get
all the paperwork

and bureaucracy done
that was needed,

so we just basically said,
"Listen, we're gonna do this,

and they gotta support it,"

because I don't think
anyone could justify

having a person overdose
in front of them

and not doing anything.

And we had had
a lot of community members

in the neighborhood
who'd lost friends and family.

And I think
out of frustration and stress

and all the trauma
that we were feeling,

we just didn't care what
the repercussions would be.

We knew that we were doing
the right thing

and that we were justified.

But it's really--
you know, the community

has really come together,
in a way, to help each other.

You know, when--when others
weren't there to help them,

they stepped up.
And it's just very heroic.

But in another sense, um,
when's the relief?

You know,
when does it get better?

Yeah. When, um...
- Hi.

Norma: Hey, Ronnie.

woman: So that's--
you wanted to say hi?

I'm [indistinct] for all of us.

Ronnie: We good? Okay.

Uh, let's get firing here.

Don, do you want--
do you want to start us?

Don:
Hychka siem, hychka.
My name is Don Durban.

I'm an elder T'Sou-ke
First Nation.

My, uh, cultural name
is Man in the Light.

I'd like to thank
the Musqueam peoples

and my relatives and friends
in the North Shore

for allowing us to have this,
uh, wonderful site here

where we're able
to do what we do.

When I lift my hands like this,
it's a gesture of thanks.

Hychka

in my language
is, uh, thank you

and
siem
is friend.
So
hychka siem, hychka.

Welcome to the new people.

- Thank you.
Ronnie: Thank you, Don.

Let's remember where we are.

Our community
has endured a crisis,

and so many of us chose
to respond.

The response of this site

gave decision-makers
a direction

and a model to copy.

Now, there are sites
across the city of Vancouver,

across the province
of British Columbia,

across Canada,

and increasingly
around the world.

We keep our community safe.

We keep our loved ones alive.

And in sharing
our compassion and wisdom,

we become world-changers,
each of us here.

So keep your standards high,
because you're a world-changer.

Care for
and support your team

because they are
world-changers.

And know that you're valued.

And, together, we say thank you

for all the important
world-changing work

you do day in and day out.

So thank each one of you
for the important work you do.

- Well, thank you.

Meagan: If an OD happens
in the injection room,

we have three staff,

what does the first person
want to do?

- Call the RPIC and yell out,
"There's an overdose!"

- Right. So we alert the room
there's an OD.

We have one person
who's administering naloxone.

The other person would set up
the oxygen and airway.

Derek: And crowd control.
Meagan: Yeah.

So it's up
to the third person

to keep care
of the person's table,

gather up
his belongings,

and phone 911 and crowd control
and like that, right?

So...oximeter.

I've never had one like this,
but anyway.

You know your job here.
Hold down the thumb there.

Give him 1/3.
You got the Narcan ready?

Meagan: It's right here.
Derek: Bang. Shoot it in.

You're-you're an OD, Don.
Come out of it.

He's coming out of it.
He's coming out of it.

Yay.
- Usually they'll pull--

They'll pull the thing
out of their mouth.

- He's pulling it out.
Yay, we saved another one.

[applause]

- So when someone
is given Narcan,

we know that it wears off
within 30 minutes.

Derek: Yeah.
- So you want to encourage

the person to stay...
Derek: Thanks, Don.

Don: You're welcome.
- Where we can monitor them.

One more thing,
as everyone knows

Norma loves to cook dinner
with her man, James,

so we're having
another Norma supper club...

- Tonight?
Meagan: Coming up this month.

Not tonight, but soon.

- Soon, yeah.
- So, uh, I just want to say

thank you to Norma
for doing that.

man: Thank you, Norma.
- Yeah.

Love cooking
for all you guys.

Ronnie:
Feel free to just voice it--

a moment of dedication
and close. Okay?

[all voicing names]

Don: All my relations.
all: All my relations.

both: Thank you.
Ronnie: Thanks, everyone.

[indistinct chatter]

I just want to check in
with you a little later.

- And we are open for business.

- Thank you.
- Go on in.

Ronnie: So then
after your training shift,

then you can--at the beginning
of each of these shifts,

8:00, 1:00, and 5:00,
you can--

and, obviously, it's different
on Monday. It's noon.

That's the only exception.

But then, uh, on-once you've
done your training shift,

then you can fish.

man: So I just come in here--

Ronnie:
Uh, yeah, we got one booth.

[indistinct chatter]

Norma: Yeah. [laughs]

[dog barks]

- Zelda. [whistles]

man: Yeah, man. [indistinct]
Trey: [whistling]

Yeah, yeah.

Norma: New table, Joy?
Joy: Yeah.

Trey: What's your handle?
Norma: Wild?

- Wild?
Joy: Wild.

Norma: You doing both, Joy?

Trey: You doing side and down?
Okay.

Ronnie: Dana, can you--
can you put the schedule up?

[door squeaks]
- Hey, Dennis.

- Hey, there.

- Hey, Shawn,
how's it going, bro?

Hey, bro, how are you doing?

- I'm sorry.
- That's okay.

Hey, how is everybody?

What's up, what's up?

Amy: Derek N's right there,

but he's been passed out
all day.

Kevin: Okay, yeah.
Amy: So you can pay him

when he wakes up.
Kevin: Okay, yeah.

Marz?
- Then Marz...

- Yeah.
- Um, Chris W. got, um,

a $10 advance...
- Okay.

- But he got that from Trey's
so it's not out of this.

- Yeah, okay. Right.
- But--so you should be,

uh, like 60...
- Yeah.

- 60 short.

- We've got our positive

for fentanyl on our dipstick.

I'm gonna let it dry
just a little more,

but the negative is coming in
on the benzo.

Two lines on the strip
closest to me

means negative for benzos,

one line on the strip
closest to you

means positive for fentanyl.

Ronnie: Oh, yeah. New people.

New people meet me over here.

It's important to note

that this isn't
traditional employment, okay?

It's a volunteer position,
okay,

with a--
with a paid honorarium.

You know, it's not quick money
and it's not lucrative.

But it is an opportunity

to respond to a crisis
in your community,

to care for loved ones,

and for some people
replace a hustle, right,

that is often criminalized
like boosting or sex trade

or whatever it may be

that-that ends up, uh, putting
people in a negative cycle.

Thank you.

Uh, all of the staff here

are current drug users
or former, all right?

So they're people
with lived experience.

Acknowledging
that people use, right,

we ask that they don't use
on their shift, um,

and use
up to a maintenance level.

Like, if you have to use,

you take five minutes
and-and get back to work.

But let people know around you

that you're-you're doing that.

Cool?
- Mm-hmm.

Ronnie: Thanks, everyone.

Yeah. See you then.

man: Awesome.
Ronnie: Thank you.

- It's cool.
They've saved my life.

I've OD'd here.

I worked the oil rigs
for nine years.

Made a good living.

Um, price of oil tanked,
got laid off.

And then my wife was killed.

She was hit by a drunk driver.

And, uh, doing down was easier
than, uh, dealing with it.

Of course, at the time,
I didn't realize

the physical dependencies.

Like, that was something
that I was told about,

but you don't quite grasp.

[indistinct chatter]

Yeah, no, the only difference
between even you and I

is one bad decision.

[spoon scraping]

I never thought three years ago

I would be pushing
a shopping cart

and missing half my teeth,
and, uh...

yeah.

[rap music playing]

♪ ♪

Dana: And you can make

so much money from...
Kevin: Yeah.

Dana: You know,
from such a small amount.

Kevin: Oh, totally.
Dana: Because the labor cost

involved in making heroin

compared to the chemicals
used to make fentanyl,

it's a no-brainer.
You're gonna go...

Kevin: Yeah.
Dana: With fentanyl.

I-I don't know.

I-I think the only way
is to quit, basically.

Kevin: Yeah, but quitting
is even more difficult

because it's a lot harder...
Dana: Yeah, it is.

- Than--to get off of fentanyl
now as it is.

- I used to be able
to quit heroin cold turkey.

I'd lock myself in my apartment
for seven days.

Kevin: Yep.
- I'd have Netflix.

I would have a fridge
full of food

and a big bag of weed.

And I would detox myself.
Kevin: Yeah.

- It was hard,
but I could do it.

I tried to do that
with fentanyl

and I would end up
in the emergency room.

Kevin: And that's why we have
all these people dying alone.

Dana: Oh, yeah.
You're screwed.

- I think it-it just, um--

I mean, yeah, people-
people were scared of it,

but people weren't left
with a choice, really.

You can't really get heroin
out there.

You can, but it's really far
and few between.

And, like, everybody's
addicted to fentanyl now,

so it's, like, people
aren't scared of it.

They are but they aren't,
right?

They're--they crave it,
they like it,

but they know in the back
of their minds that, um--

you know, I mean, that's why

everybody's here
in the safe consumption site.

Not just 'cause
it's comfortable,

because there's-
there's a risk, right?

There's an underlying risk
that I could do this shot

and be laid right out.
I could die.

You know, but I know
the team here would do

their best
to not let that happen.

But, yeah, that's the risks.

Trey: All right, guys,
if you've done your smash,

time to dash.
Move over to the chill.

Half an hour limit,
shoot within it.

[siren wailing]

[somber cello music]

♪ ♪

[siren gets louder]

Patricia: Every year, as chief
medical health officer,

I do release a report.

And the focus
of this year's report

is the opioid overdose crisis.

We are now
into the fourth year

of this crisis
in British Columbia,

as you know.

And what we have found
is that almost all

the illegal opioids
circulating,

uh, at least in Vancouver,

is contaminated with fentanyl.

♪ ♪

[indistinct chatter]

[kettle whistles]

- It was, uh,
on one of the beaches.

Norma: Yeah?
- Yeah.

It was a small little dog.

He, uh, ate something.

And they figured out
what was happening

and they Narcan'd him.

- Wow, eh?
- It's hot. Hot, hot.

- Yes, it is hot.

James:
They gave him the nose one.

Norma: Oh, yeah.

James: The nose spray Narcan.
Norma: Yeah.

James: Yeah, they brought this
little puppy dog back to life.

Norma: That's awesome.
James: Yeah.

- Yeah, but it was fentanyl.
Norma: Oh, wow, eh?

- It was on the news, too.

Norma: Yeah. Hmm.

- Yeah, it was
a tiny little dog

about yea big.
Norma: Yeah.

That's a crazy drug, man.

[indistinct chatter]

- Oh, yeah?

[indistinct]

How you doing?

[bluesy harmonica music]

♪ ♪

- What's going on?
You behaving?

You better, you better.

Sarah: Oh, hey, hey. Uh...

Are you using?
woman: Yes.

- Okay, what's your handle?
woman: [indistinct]

Norma: Vi, I'll put you
at table one.

- What are you using?

Uh...one.

What time is it, Normie?

- [whistling
"Quando, Quando, Quando"]

♪ ♪

Sarah: He's teaching me
how to use a garbage--

a garbage thing.

How much for this? Five?

- Five.
- All right.

- You can't buy it off him.
He needs it.

- What do you need it for?

Oh, is this for you,
for-for, like, an arm?

You have three of them? Okay.

We got a deal here.

There you go, a deal.

All right, well, I better get
you that five bucks

now that I've bought
a garbage machine.

Ronnie: Excuse me, guys.

- Need a hand?
- No, I got it.

[indistinct chatter]

Nope. Excuse me.

- One thousand two,
one thousand three,

one thousand four,
one thousand five.

Squeeze.

One thousand one,
one thousand two,

one thousand three...
- You stay breathing there,

champ.
Dana: Two thousand four.

Ronnie: Nice.
Dana: There we go.

Ronnie: Another deep breath,
all right?

- Do you need a naloxone kit?

man: No, I have two in my bag.
- You got two?

Do you need a new one?

It's only good until the--
until March.

woman: Thank you.
- Yep.

Ronnie: They were
low-grade overdoses?

Sarah: Yeah.

Kevin: And I have a lot
of musical influences as well.

Um, Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli,
Scott Weiland...

- Wow.
- Eric Clapton.

Norma: Yeah.
- Even though he's not known

for singing, he's still--
Norma: He's got a great voice.

- Yeah, he does.
He's got some pipes.

Sarah: Pretty amazing
singing skills.

You know, we seen him
at the karaoke?

Norma: Oh, yeah!
Sarah: We did the duo.

What were we singing?

- Uh, we did
an Elton John song, actually.

"Candle in the Wind."

Sarah: "Candle in the Wind"?
Yeah, that's right.

- I'm gonna load up
some more Narcan.

- Okay.
Sarah: We needed Kevin

to hold the tune.
Norma: Oh, yeah.

Kevin: Yeah, Sarah
was more back-up than--

Sarah: I was kind of
a back-up.

- Better with pre-loading,
though.

You, um--
it's a little more controlled.

But I've done enough overdoses

in the dark and in the rain

that I've certainly cut myself
and crushed--

like, crushed them in my hands.

Um, I just--
we just leave these,

like, on a desk
so if there's an overdose,

we can grab our oxygen tank...

And our Narcan.

Cindy: My brother died of OD
in 1998.

There was no OPS around.
- Yeah.

- And that's what brought
me here.

And, um, I was thinking

that, um, I should get a job
or volunteer

to save people
'cause I figure that's my call.

- Good for you.
- So that's what got me to OPS.

- Yeah.

It's awesome that we can save
people down here.

You know, that's-
that's my passion

because I lost so many friends
down here.

And I overdosed myself

when the--when naloxone
just came out as a drug.

And I was lucky I was
with a roommate, too,

or I wouldn't be here
right now.

Yeah.

There's an OD?

Kevin: We have an OD
out there.

Norma: You want me to come?

Oh, we need a mask.
Kevin: I got it all here.

Come with me.

Is he awake?

Cindy: He okay out there?

- Oh, yeah. He's good.

[siren wailing]

No, he's just out of it

from the benzo dope
that's down here.

Fentanyl cut with benzos.

It's a bad drug
because they sleep

for, like, two hours sometimes.

Who knows how long, but yeah.

Everything done? Yeah?
- Easy.

This is my new nickname now,
OD-Wan Kenobi,

master of the overdose.
- Why not?

- You gotta stay here, bud.

Stay inside.

[chirps] Stay inside.

Go lay in your bed.
woman: [indistinct]

[spray can clicking]

[paint hissing]

- This wall means a lot
to people in the community.

And, um. it's kind of
always been a memorial wall.

Like, so many people
have passed in this alleyway.

Mostly when someone passes,
there's flowers.

And then they're gone
the next day,

thrown out by city workers.

So, you know, it's just sad

to see all those-
those messages, uh,

to loved ones get wiped away.

Joe was one of our employees
who passed last year--

around this time, actually,
a year ago.

- And Rose was as well.

- Oh, yeah.
Rose was, uh, an employee

that passed.

You know, like, just lost
so many people and, uh...

continue to lose people
in this crisis.

And we're just trying to do
the best we can

and commemorate those
from the Downtown Eastside.

Um, this is one of the best
neighborhoods in the world

and I don't--I wouldn't
want to be anywhere else, so--

I left it blank for people
to add their own names.

And then, you know,
as you can see,

we're running out of space
for names, right?

It just could go on and on
and on.

Kevin: [humming
"If I Were a Rich Man"]

♪ If I were a very rich man ♪

♪ I would never work again ♪

Dana: What's that?
man: [indistinct]

Dana: Thanks, Kevin.

Yeah, we're about close to done
through here.

- ♪ If I were a very rich man ♪

♪ I would never work again ♪

- While I was, uh,
tree planting, I did, uh--

I learned I had
a lot of fun whistling.

I would learn whistles like...

[whistles warbling tune]

Or...[whistles clear tune]

But, uh--yeah, the most fun
was, uh, warbling

like, uh, Roger Whittaker.

It's kind of like, uh...
[whistles]

Or, uh...[whistling]

Okay.

[match strikes]

[whistles "Andy Griffith Show"
theme song]

♪ ♪

[whistling continues]

♪ ♪

[light switch clicks]

[siren wailing]

[horns honking]

[indistinct chatter]

Adrian: ♪ Overdose Prevention
Society ♪

♪ A place where you can
overdose safely ♪

♪ If you're overdosing ♪

♪ Lying panicked
on the floor ♪

♪ Don't worry, some of us
have also overdosed before ♪

♪ Take a big deep breath ♪

♪ The ambulance
is on its way ♪

♪ No need to panic
just 'cause you can't breathe ♪

♪ We've got Narcan kits ♪

♪ And they're handing them out
for free ♪

[whistles]

♪ OD, OD, OD ♪

♪ Overdose Prevention Society ♪

[indistinct chatter]

[oxygen tanks clinking]

- Hey, Robbie.

[tanks clang]

Spike: You guys put that
together yourselves, right?

- Yeah, it just sits--
- Pretty smart.

- Yeah.

- So that one right there
is the one that has air.

The other rack is all empties.

That one--
- This one's full?

Spike: Yeah.
The top row is empties

and everything below it--

Why don't I help you?

- Okay.

[cage door clangs]

[tanks clattering]

I brought down 13.

- Okay, do you want 13 back?

- No, no. Just 12 back is fine.

Ronnie: Hey Jello, you're
falling asleep, all right?

[indistinct chatter]

Steve, watch out. Hey?

Hey, man, how's it going?

All right.
[thud, shouting]

Just give me a sec.

Steve, you okay, man?

- I'm all right.
- You sure?

- Just-just let's see
what your, uh--

volunteer:
Uh, he's a little low.

- Yeah. Keep reminding him
to breathe.

volunteer:
He don't have a clue.

- Take a deep breath, Steve.

We don't want to Narcan you
if we don't have to.

That's why
we're reminding you, okay?

- Marz gets a reminder
about the [indistinct].

- Steve--
do we have another one?

I--just keep him--

I'm gonna go check
with her over here.

Hey, Marz,
can you talk to me?

You stay on your chair,
okay, Marz?

Hey--
volunteer: Hey, Marz?

Ronnie: Did you use--
can you talk to me?

Did you use some
speed as well?

Okay.

- This stuff is crazy, eh?

- Yeah.
- It's insane.

- Here, can I, uh,
check on Steve again.

Hey, champ, l-let me just put
this oximeter

on you again quickly
and make sure--

- Sure.
- 97, 71.

- Okay, that's great.

You're good, man.
- [grunts]

woman: Ronnie,
how do you know,

like, if you would need it
or not?

- If it's dropping
like Steve's was below 90,

if he's not rousable,
you know,

like, and able to take
a breath and bring it up a bit,

then we gotta be
really concerned

if it starts to drop.
Then we Narcan him.

- No filming our ass.
- [laughs] Yeah.

Amy: You know, myself, Norma,

all of our amazing
peer workers, we care.

When you've lived that,

and when you have people
that you genuinely love

suffering every day
in the streets,

then the motivation, um,
to make programs better,

to make people's actual lives
better, it's just,

you know, it seems to be
a little--a little deeper.

Sarah: Yeah. The best part
of OPS is, you know,

this place where I'm accepted
to use drugs

and no one's gonna judge me.

And I can come in
in the morning,

and they're freezing
from the night before.

And we turn on the heat
and turn on the music,

and Norma's telling
a dirty joke,

and, you know, we're making
the best of what we've got

in the middle of, you know
a crisis situation

where people are dying
and we're losing our friends.

- Exactly.

- And, of course,
we're unhappy.

And, of course, we spend
a lot of time

when we are alone, you know,
thinking about it.

And it's--
- Yeah.

Sarah: It's difficult.

I don't think any of us
could do it

unless we, you know, had some

glimpse of hope and light
and happiness and-and fun.

And that's how it should be,
right?

Amy: It's really important.

All right, I'm gonna go
back upstairs.

Sarah: Okay.
Amy: Um, could you grab

one more box of tourniquets

and then I'll meet you guys
upstairs?

Sarah: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
We'll grab some stuff.

We could use some of these,
actually.

- Yeah.

We had fun
at the Halloween party.

Sarah: Norma...
- I was twerking with Trey.

Sarah: Oh, my God.

Now, is the open button
or is it this one?

- That one's close.
That one's open.

[elevator dings]

Sarah: Sorry, what?

Trey: Gonna load this up here.

Hey, Marz...
Marz: Yeah?

Trey: Did you see
the Halloween party?

Marz: Oh, not yet, I haven't.

Trey: Watch Norma get--
we're getting low.

- Down and dirty.
- Me and Norma getting' low.

Down and dirty.
- [chuckles]

She grabs me here
and starts ripping me around.

I was like, "What the hell
are you doing, girl?"

Marz: That's awesome.
[both chuckle]

[indistinct chatter]

Trey: I think we were doing
the Monster Mash here.

Marz: Yeah, this is awesome.

So fun.

[birds chirping]

[upbeat cartoon music]

- Did you look up
"Wile E. Coyote speaks"?

- Yeah.
- Oh, this doesn't count.

This is, like, a new one.

- Road Runner speaks
with signs.

Wile E. Coyote
sometimes speaks with signs

but he can talk.

- Allow me
to introduce myself.

My name is Wile E. Coyote,
genius.

You are a rabbit,
and I am going--

Trey: I told you he talks.

- Fair enough. You win--
um, you win something.

- Need that. Need that.

Zelda, get over here.

[grunts]

Oh, it's nice
and clean up here.

[bag thumps]

[spray can hissing]

[pigeons cooing]

[seagulls calling]

Ron: [moaning]
Ronnie: Hey, buddy.

Hey, Ron. Talk to me.

- [moans]
Ronnie: His blood oxygen

is around 75.
Did anyone Narcan him?

volunteer: No, not yet.
Ronnie: Let's give him

even a half shot.

volunteer:
Yeah, okay. I'll do that.

[Ron moaning]

- I'm giving you a half shot
of Narcan here, Ron.

Ronnie: Gonna help you, buddy.

Just try and relax, okay?

Was that a half shot?

- It was a half shot of Narcan.

[siren wailing]
[Ron moaning]

- His heart rate got
pretty low at times

and, uh, his blood oxygen
at one point.

paramedic 1:
So you were injecting,

is that right? Yeah?
Ron: [indistinct]

paramedic 1:
Yeah. Was it down?

Or were you using some up
as well?

- [indistinct]

paramedic 1: I'm just thinking
with the power chair here,

if your friend--
could you take it

to where he stays?
Otherwise we'll be waiting,

like, an hour
for a wheelchair cab right now.

Ronnie: I mean, we can keep it
at our--

we're from the OPS site.
paramedic 1: Yeah.

Ronnie: We can keep it there.
paramedic 1: Yeah.

paramedic 2:
They'll take your chair,

we'll put you in our bed,

and then you can come back
and pick up the chair.

Ronnie: Uh, should I give that
with him?

- Oh, I'll carry it.
Ronnie: Okay.

- Thank you, man.

Dana: Okay, I got this
for you guys

whenever you're ready.

paramedic 1:
Awesome. Thanks, man.

- Yeah, thank you guys.

paramedic 1: All right,
let's have you see

the doctor, buddy.

Ron: [indistinct]

paramedic 1:
You got your pop?

Ron: [indistinct]
paramedic 1: Okay.

- Thank you guys.
You guys are awesome.

- Cheers.
Have a good night, bud.

paramedic 2:
Good night.

Ronnie: It can feel
pretty hopeless.

Amy: Yeah.
Ronnie: And-and I--

And not a lot
of lateral movement.

Like, what am I gonna do,
right?

It's a pretty unique skillset.
[chuckles]

- Right. Yeah.
- But the people

in this community have lived
here for a long time.

I-I-I really care.

Like, I've worked-
like, been embedded and...

You know, it's, uh...

you know,
it-it makes a difference.

- It does. It makes
a huge difference, yeah.

I think just the experience--
just being here,

just being part of something
that has purpose, you know?

Ronnie: Did we--I don't know
if we talked about that

in that orientation,
but, um, around, um--

um, part of the program is

so often drug users
are-are-are outcast

and not given credit
for being able to be--

like, use their mind...
- Yeah.

- To have solutions
to major problems,

major social--
- To know what they want,

to know what is best for them.
- Yep, yep.

All of that, right?

[vocal trumpeting]

♪ ♪

Dana: ♪

Quando,
quando, quando, quando
♪

[whistles]

- Everyone doing all right?

Kevin: Oh, yeah.

Aye.
- You have a good shift?

Kevin:
It was busy and that's good.

Dana: [whistles]

Ronnie: Who's left?
Is it just Dana?

Kevin: Yeah, it's just Dana.

I found it back
in the garbage.

- Oh.

Is that--is that Dana's,
like...

Kevin: [chuckling] Yeah.

- That guy's got
quite a gift.

Kevin: [laughs]

Dana: [whistling]

♪ ♪

[seagulls calling]

[cars honking]

[door creaks]

- Then we'll go like this.

And then a little loop-de-loop
for the chin.

And then around and...

Sarah, what are we gonna say
on this card?

Sarah: Uh...

Trey: Thank you Dana
for all your hard work at OPS.

- Yeah.

- [chuckling]
Don't go turning blue on us.

Sarah: Oh.
- [laughs]

So cold.

Sarah: It's one think
you haven't had [indistinct].

- Don't go turning blue on us.

- Why are you wearing
a horse mask?

- Where do I sign?
- [chuckles]

Hey, Norma.
Norma: Can I sign that?

Trey: You gotta sign it.

- I'm so proud of you.
Keep up the good work.

- Awesome.

Norma: I'm very proud of him.
Sarah: I am too.

Trey: I'm super proud of him.
Sarah: I'm really proud of him.

Trey: Everyone's proud of him.

- Come say hi to him for me.
- I will.

Bye.
Trey: Later, Smokey.

[chuckles]

- Oh, oh. You got some
of Tristan's artwork up here.

Trey: Whoa!
Dana: Yeah.

- Beautiful.
It's not messy, it's fabulous.

Trey: This isn't messy
at all, Dana.

You should see my room.
- [chuckles]

Sarah:
Oh, this is really nice.

Trey: [indistinct]

I've got--I've got a stunning
view of downtown Vancouver.

Trey: [chuckling] Yeah.

Dana:
I watch the deals go down.

I watch all sorts of people
from work

wander back and forth
down the street.

It's, uh, kind of awesome, so--

- We made you an oversized...
Dana: [gasps]

- Clown card.
both: Oooh.

- Thank you so much.
Oh, my gosh.

"We at OPS just wanted to
say..."

[gasps] Papa Smurf!
Oh, my gosh.

"We love you.
Don't go turning blue on us."

[both chuckle]

"Thank you for all
the hard work you did at OPS.

"Congrats on being
in treatment.

Love always, Ricky."

Aww, [bleep].

Uh, Trey, have you--

you spent time up here, right?

- Uh, I never made it
to the third floor.

Dana: Okay.
- I only made it

to the second floor
and then I left.

Dana: Okay. There's more rooms
down this way.

And our TV room
is down this way.

- Okay.
- See what's in there?

I got my soya milk in there.

- And this is good.

"Not yours.
Don't [bleep] touch."

That's how you gotta deal
with things.

Dana: Yeah.

I came here because
I was getting benzo'd, right?

I was waking up in an alley--

Trey saw me one night.

Like, I don't even remember
seeing you.

Trey: It was awful, man.
- And I was a wreck.

I ended up
in a puddle that night

with all my--
like, my computer gone,

my bag gone, my ID gone,

not knowing where 12 hours
had gone.

And that wasn't the first time
that it had happened.

And that was when everything
just went...[snaps]

I've--I'm done.
I-I've had enough.

And it was pretty amazing.

You guys got me in here
super fast.

And I've done really well here,
so, yeah.

Thank you, Sarah.

both: Yeah.

[siren wailing]

- Someone died out front
last night, eh?

Someone was, uh,
sleeping beside him all night

and kind of going,
"He's fine, he's fine,"

and all that [bleep],
and then...

Yeah, rough week, man.

- My girlfriend that I had
for, like, nine years,

she, um, died of Fentanyl,

like, when it very first
started coming out.

And then my friends
just started dying,

like, left and right.

So I just started doing
memorials for everybody.

Yeah, see I did this one here.

I did that, I did this...

This-this is Johnny Ramos,
old-school OG.

- [chuckles]
- I'm in.

- Yeah, he's in.
Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I did
all these ones here.

Then I did these ones
over here, too.

See the one guy here is, like,
OD'd on the ground, right?

Now, see, this guy's, like,
OD'd on the ground, right,

with the needle and stuff.

I still haven't finished it,
right?

And then this guy's got
the Narcan kit or whatever.

And he's gonna save
that guy's life, right?

I've been down here
for quite a while, actually.

Like, 20 years
or something like that,

on and off, right?

Get in where you fit in.
You know what I mean?

[pigeons cooing]

[indistinct chatter]

announcer: Nate [indistinct]
scored his first ever

national hockey game goal
in Arizona.

Turns and [indistinct] score.

And the Maple Leafs have tied
the game 1-1.

University of Denver product,
hometown boy Shore

wins his battle
from the sidewall,

gets to the...

[sirens wailing]

man: He's still [indistinct].
woman: Dude.

Yeah, it's, like a benz--
it's a benzo overdose.

So Narcan isn't working.

- Johnny, Johnny.
woman: It's a benzo--

man: 166 East Hastings.

[siren wailing]

[somber cello music]

♪ ♪

[ambulance trills]

♪ ♪

Sarah: And especially
if you're going to hobo,

it's 20 bucks a gram.
man: Yeah.

Sarah: Who's gonna buy that?
woman: Nobody.

man: But on the street
it's 5 bucks a gram.

Sarah: Well, have you seen
the [bleep] on the street?

man: No.

Sarah: Yeah,
it's like a bag of [bleep].

That we're all kind of, like,
going to this--

man: The safer supply funding?

- Yeah, the safer supply
funding.

To-to go...

that we all have the--
sort of the same plan.

- Other opiates
that are derived

from the poppy plant,

as opposed to buying them
from Pfizer,

which sends them out
to Turkey or Afghanistan

to get their poppies,
make our own.

Clint: Overdose prevention
sites have made

a positive impact
by saving lives.

Far too often,

these overdose
prevention sites

get so busy and full
people get turned away,

thus potentially using alone

which is more dangerous
than it has ever been.

Today I call on the city
to motion

for a legal, safer drug
supply available.

- Our last speaker
is Dana McPhee, uh, from OPS.

Dana: Thank you Mayor Stewart
and councilors

for having me today.

I am 14 days into recovery.

It's been incredibly helpful.
I'm feeling great.

I also work with Sarah at OPS.

Uh, I'm one of the managers.

A lot of people are suffering,
uh, severe trauma

from seeing
very violent overdoses,

very severe overdoses,
and even death.

Uh, one of our workers
is currently on leave

due to seeing, uh, sadly,
somebody die.

And to be brought out
to an overdose

where somebody
that you've saved

on a number of occasions
is now dead,

is extremely traumatizing.

We were also hoping, today,

to talk about
a 24-hour OPS location.

People are using alone,
by themselves, on the street

when they could be inside
an OPS location.

And we would have saved them.

But as the death indicated,

the death
behind Pigeon Park bank

four days ago,
that's not always the case.

Thank you.
Mayor Stewart: Thanks very much

for coming in
to, uh, debate on this matter.

[tarp rustling]

- In some manner, I was
always, like, underemployed.

There was always this desire

to have meaning
and compassion,

and those things lined up
a bit, right?

You know, people struggle
to find meaning,

to having meaning
in their life,

and experience
a lot of despair

and-and mental illness
in reaction to that, right?

So I know in my own life,
training at Insite

was a really profound,
a-ha moment for me.

It was like,
"This is why I'm here,"

like, from moment one.

It was--it was--
and I-I entered as a skeptic

about harm reduction and, oh,
letting people use drugs,

"Shouldn't we be getting them
to stop," and all that [bleep].

And-and, like, immediately,
profoundly, was like,

"This-this is right.
This is just.

This is amazing."

So to me,
it's not that strange

that it--
like, if I experienced that,

that people
who are marginalized

through drug use,
and through poverty,

and homelessness,

and physical
and mental illness,

and all of that stuff,

you say, "This is meaningful,"
they don't--

it's not as if I have
to convince them.

They--we know, right?

'Cause there was a crisis
and we responded.

We know.
And that meaning

is-is not something
you take for granted, right?

woman: Can you talk a bit
about the care model at OPS--

how it differs
from the other sites

you've worked at and, like,
maybe how staff burnout

plays a part in it?
- Yeah.

When I've been working nights,

it's all I do is work
and sleep, right?

And-and how that just, like,

does not drive wellness
for me at all.

And, uh, I go home and cocoon
and then sleep as much as I'm--

I can't wind down very well,
and then I sleep,

and then it's--
ugh, it's time to go to work.

Right? And, um,
what experience

has emphasized for me
is the sustainability--

how it's hard to do this
over the long haul.

I've burnt out in the past.

I've-I've witnessed
other colleagues burn out.

And-and how we care for that
is a major question.

You know, in some ways
we've engaged

really dark places
willingly, right?

Um, and some without choice.

A lot of--like, that's
the unique thing

about the drug user,
is that they haven't had

much of a choice
to engage that--

the trauma, the grief,
the loss of this crisis,

let alone
what their personal experience

of their own life
and their-their own trauma

and grief and loss.

And yet, our staff don't get
to be world-changers, right?

Like, so many people
in drug use,

they're shunned
from community engagement

and shunned
from being recognized

as--as significant.

And yet, here we are, right?

[chopping]

[somber cello music]

♪ ♪

- [bleep]

Oh, I lost one.

Runaway onion.

♪ ♪

Ronnie:
We're, you know, an essential

life-saving service.

A program that provides
stabilization for people.

But to create connectedness,
then that's sort of--

that's sort of an extra.

Like, so people
who either don't have

and experience of family
that's positive,

some people who do
but there's distance, right?

Or loss.

And now we're the--our--
we have become the-the family.

Like, right?
- Yeah.

Ronnie: Uh, I can identify
that individually.

Like, last summer
when I was away in Ontario,

I-I-I vowed on the plane,

"Go home and rest
and just be chill and relax.

And everything will get busy
tomorrow, just don't--"

And I'm like,
"No, I'm gonna go into work."

And, uh, I met Meagan
for lunch, but I wanted--

like, I wanted to hug everyone.

And we were excited
to, um, see each other, right?

- [indistinct]

- Yum.
- [chuckles]

- Hello.

- This is
our community kitchen.

Meagan: How's it going, James?
I brought Smokey.

Thank you so much, you guys.
both: Yeah.

- You're welcome, Meagan.

[indistinct]

Ronnie: Aloneness

is a major driver
of-of addiction, right?

And so to create a sense
of community and family,

um, to me, that's--

I don't know,
that's super exciting, right?

♪ ♪

[laughter]

[indistinct chatter]

♪ ♪

- [chuckles]

Good, eh?
Kevin: Mm-hmm.

- Right on. I'm glad
you guys are enjoying it.

♪ ♪

[rain patters]

[seagulls calling]

- When I got there, it was,
like, a bunch of police,

and then it was tapered off.

But then I didn't realize
that...

- Right.
- That was the body.

- [bleep]

- It just looked
like a piece of trash.

- Yeah, yeah.

- You know what I mean?
Karen: Yes.

- I mean, I don't know.

That was someone's son.
Karen: What happens.

- It's just so sad.
Karen: It's just awful.

- You go, "Okay, I'm coming in
on Monday."

"Someone's dead in the front."
"Okay."

You know, this or that.

Yeah.

Karen: I don't know
if the neighborhood's

gonna make it.
I honestly don't.

And it breaks my heart, but--

In the mainstream world,
people believe

that this isn't
that big of a problem

because it's only happening
to "those people."

Sarah: Yeah.
Karen: Not us.

And that's the same separation

that we-we enact
every day, right?

So, we've lost any ability
to communicate.

It seems to be
more and more difficult

to translate
what people actually live like

and what they go through
and how they die.

I mean, it's--and it's--it's--

You know, it's incomprehensible
and therefore un-addressable.

Um...people feel
like it's not their concern.

[Louis King's
"One Track Mind" playing]

♪ ♪

[indistinct chatter]

♪ ♪

man: Ow.

- ♪ Comes down to lovin'
you, babe ♪

♪ I got a one-track mind ♪

♪ Yeah, I got
a one-track mind ♪

♪ I need you all the time ♪

♪ I'm never gonna rest
till I make you mine ♪

♪ ♪

♪ I got a one-track mind ♪

♪ I'm walking down that line ♪

♪ 'Cause when it comes down
to lovin' you, babe ♪

♪ I got a one-track mind ♪

- Oh, I feel better now.

- [bleep] sucks.

Just went to an NA meeting
with him, like, a week ago.

It's so [bleep] up.

Dana:
A thousand battle cruisers

with a gun underneath them

that have the capability
to destroy planets...

Kevin: Yeah.
Dana: Like the Death Star.

Kevin: Right.
- There was so much new stuff

that wasn't given background

and how they intro--
Kevin: Okay, fair enough.

Fair enough.
- Yeah, it drove me nuts.

Kevin: Yeah. We knew
from the-the get-go

with "Attack of the Clones."

And when Palpatine
first showed up,

when he became emperor,

we knew that he had
all these, like, ways

to turn back time--

that he had the ability to pull
something like that off.

Dana: Well, the Death Star
was capable

of blowing planets up too,
right?

But it was the Death Star.
- Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Dana: And it just went
back and forth.

Kevin: Right.
Dana: And then, you know,

Kylo Ren is a good guy,
Kylo Ren's a bad guy.

Kevin:
Yeah, and they didn't even get

into the Knights of Ren thing.

- Hey, Sarah, I'm gonna take

this puppy up to Ron
at the hospital.

Uh, it's got a full charge
on it.

There we go.

[crash]
Oh, [bleep].

Coming through. Excuse me.

Hey, how's it going?

Just bringing a friend
his wheelchair.

I hope I'm gonna make it.

[bleep]

Off-road. Beep beep.

So, yeah, actually, ironically,

this was the first place
I ever, ever used heroin

was the old backpacker's hostel
right here.

Hey, what's up, bro?

Can I get on the bus? Hey!

Thanks, man,

This thing is hard
to maneuver.

I think that was
Thanksgiving weekend 2014.

I got 30 days and served 20
with good behavior.

I got out
and then I was arrested again.

PA: Next stop,
West Hastings Street.

- I called my mom
from the jail phone

and I was like,
"I need to get out

of the Downtown Eastside."

She's like, "Your kid's been
in foster care

"for 3 1/2 years.

"Your dad's dying
of heart failure.

And I got stomach cancer
and breast cancer."

So she's like,
"You know what?"

She's like, "I'm pretty sure
I got this cancer

"because all I do
is think about you

"and worry about you.

"And I wanted you here

"while I was going
through cancer treatment

so that I could sleep."

She's like, "I knew you weren't
gonna stop using."

She's like,
"I just wanted you in my house,

"even though I knew
you were using,

so I could get
one good night's sleep."

And, uh...

I kept using, you know?

Um, despite all that.

[exhales heavily]

[PA dings]

PA: Granville Steet.

- I'm getting out here,
driver.

Thank you.

Hello.

Can you help me find my friend
Ron MacKenzie?

I'm just bringing him
his wheelchair.

nurse: Um, once you bring him
his wheelchair,

he's gonna leave.
- Uh-oh.

Can I hide it here for him?
nurse: Let's hide it.

Yeah, let's hide it.
- Okay, all right.

- You can just drive it
in there and then...

- Okay.
- I'll lock it back up

- Hey there, young man.

Ron: Yeah, right on.
Thanks for coming.

Tell me about my chair.

- Uh, it's on its way.

- Excellent, excellent.
Trey: Yeah, yeah.

- Yeah, just bring it to 10C.

Well, you know. You came here.

- Yeah.

Ron:
Yeah, but it would be cool.

Trey: Yeah, don't-don't leave
too fast, man.

Like...stay here
as long as you need.

- Oh, yeah, definitely.
Trey: Yeah.

Uh, is there anything else
you need, like, taken care of

or anything, like--
Ron: No, no.

- No? Okay.
I'll be here tomorrow.

And I can go up to Denny's
on my way

and I'll get you
a Denny's milkshake.

Ron: All right.
- Yeah, yeah?

How does that sound?
Ron: Excellent.

- Cool. All right.

[mimics explosion]
[chuckles]

Ron: Thanks for coming.
- All right, Ron.

I'll come visit you
tomorrow, okay?

- Bye-bye.

[somber cello music]

♪ ♪

[birds calling]

♪ ♪

Dana: One Narcan approximately
five minutes ago.

[indistinct chatter]

Ronnie: Lost that guy
Ron's chair.

woman: Trey took Ron's chair
up to the hospital.

Ronnie: Yeah, I'm-I'm hoping

they'll keep him
in the hospital.

He could hardly breathe.

He was horrible, man.
man: Who's that?

Ronnie: Ron, the guy
in the wheelchair.

woman: Ron MacKenzie.
Ronnie: Yeah.

- You gotta use
a second syringe

from the one
you draw it up with

'cause it touches
the bottom of the steel

and it gets a burr on it.

And you can feel it rip
into your skin.

Um, so operation Medusa,
basically, we had

Pashmul in the center,
1500 Taliban in there.

We were split up
into two bat--

uh, two battalions.

And, um, basically, one of us
was gonna be a hammer

and the other one the anvil.

I was with Bravo Company.
Um, Four Platoon.

We were known as the Nomads.

We even had Nomads patches
'cause we spent so much time

roaming around the desert

without a home or forward
operating base, right?

So, anyway, um,
during, uh, Medusa,

my friend Josh Klukie,
God bless his soul--

September 29, 2006.

We were--

We were a machine gun team,
like, the two of us.

He was
my assistant gunner, right?

So we were really close.

But, um, alls I remember
was there was

this big cracking sound
like thunder.

And then I blacked out.

What had happened is,

I stepped
on the pressure plate detonator

and, um, set it off.

And Josh just happened to be
three meters, um, to my six.

Um, right where the charge
was buried.

And they figured the charge
was probably about eight

1055 howitzer shells
buried in the ground

and wired together, right?

It's a lot simpler to use that
than make up a bunch of C4.

Um...so I got
his initials here.

Rest in peace JK--Josh Klukie.

And then that's his rifle,
his boots, and his helmet,

and the mountain that was

right there in the background
from us, Masum Ghar.

Ronnie: Jeez, man.

I'm sorry. I appreciate you,
uh, letting me, uh,

carry a bit of that story
with you.

You all right?

- Thanks, man. I appreciate it.
- Yeah.

- Yeah.
- Right on, man.

- Yeah. You stay safe.
- Yeah, I will.

- Stay sane and stay safe.

woman: Narcan!

[somber cello music]

[siren wailing]

♪ ♪

Dana: One thousand two,
one thousand three,

one thousand four,
one thousand five,

squeeze.

When you're there
and you're just doing it,

you don't even think.
You just--you're just going.

It's only afterwards
when you sit down

and take a deep breath,
and have a glass of water

or whatever
that you kind of realize,

"Holy smokes,
this is hard work."

- Yeah. Pretty intense, man.

Hi. Struggling?

Mind if I put my hand
on your shoulder?

I'm sorry you're going
through that.

I'm glad you're here, though.

woman: It's the nature
of the chaos here, I think.

Ronnie: Has anyone seen
Jello take a breath there?

Kevin:
Yeah, he's breathing.

- Uh, closed in 25 minutes.

Uh, 25 minutes!

[table clattering]

Ronnie: I just don't want

to leave it lying around,
right?

woman: [indistinct]
- Fingers and toesies in.

I'm closing the door.
You're good.

You were just stuck on a--
on a rig.

This is our--
our hazmat compacting system.

Yeah, the prototype works,

but, uh, it's in
a development stage right now.

[indistinct chatter]

Dana: [whistles quietly]
- Okay, ready?

- Okay, yeah. Yeah.

- Where are you going?

- I'm just gonna trip around.
- Just outside?

Do you want me to keep going
with you?

man: Now you're getting'
all riled up.

- Yeah, this guy came by

and then he bought a hoodie
for five bucks.

Then he said he didn't want it,
right?

Looks at me and goes,

"Your hoodie smells like"...

- Hey, hon, how are you?

What?
woman: [indistinct]

- Oh, awesome.

woman: I was like,
"Well, why did you put it on?"

- [chuckles]
woman: You know, he's got

no good clothes on,
no socks and shoes, right?

Said he needs that $5 back.

[indistinct chatter]

- Are you trying to go under
that, uh--okay.

woman: [indistinct]
- What's that?

woman: [indistinct]
- Yeah.

woman:
Is that you, mama? Hey!

man: She's got [indistinct].

- Okay, you tell me,
are you good here?

You got it, right?

Okay, you take care, huh?
Good night, hon.

man: [indistinct]

[indistinct chatter]

Hey, how are you? Good.

[men shouting]

[seagulls calling]

[Metallica's
"Seek and Destroy" plays]

- ♪ Seek and destroy ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Searching ♪

♪ Seek and destroy ♪

Patrick:
Heroin distribution program

with all the
long-time heroin users.

It had zero overdose deaths.

So we have to clean up

this poisoned drug supply
today.

We don't need to be
marching here

again and again and again,

hanging on to blind,
old ideologies

that keep people stuck.

We have to learn to connect
and reunite as people.

You know, our teachers
are all around us--

the Earth, the air, the water,
the sky.

They give life to each
and every one of us

indiscriminately.
They don't judge.

You know, they support
one another with life.

[drumming and singing]

♪ ♪

Tina: The founder of the
Overdose Prevention

Society,

uh, Sarah Blyth.
[applause]

Sarah: Hey.

Uh, thanks everybody
for coming out today,

uh, in this march.

I-I don't even really know
what to say.

It's so sad
what we're going through

as a community right now.

We can't handle any more
people dying down here.

We're losing our friends
and family every day.

Uh, the peers
that are on the front lines...

[cheers and applause]
Yep.

They are--they are saving
lives every day.

All day, every day.

And it's hard on them.

So we need to give them love
and-and help.

woman: And a living wage.
Living wage!

- We need to give them support.

[cars honking]

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

[chanting]

♪ ♪

Tina: The sound of sirens
lulls me to sleep at night

as well as waking me
in the morning,

beckoning me to rise
and prepare for the day ahead.

My new fashion accessories

are my Narcan kits
and oximeters.

I miss the day
of jewelry and hats.

Life in the Downtown Eastside
during the overdose crisis

is wrought with sirens

piercing the din
of everyday life.

I see blue people.

It's the blue pallor
of the oxygen deprived,

the overdosing, the dying.

I've lost count
of how many friends I've lost.

And I've forgotten how many
memorials I've attended.

But I will never forget,
as much as I want to,

are the body bags wheeled out

from SROs
and public washrooms.

Those memories are etched
on my brain forever.

And all the while
the melancholy melody

of the sirens plays on.

To me, though,
the Downtown Eastside

is a community of angels.

Angels in the form
of the beautifully broken.

[cheers and applause]

[Bush's "Machinehead" plays]

♪ ♪

man: Whoo!

[laughter]

- ♪ Breathe in, breathe out ♪

♪ Breathe in, breathe out ♪

♪ Breathe in ♪

- ♪ He blew his mind out
in a car ♪

♪ ♪

♪ He didn't notice
that the lights had changed ♪

♪ ♪

♪ A crowd of people
stood and stared ♪

♪ ♪

♪ They'd seen his face before ♪

♪ Nobody was really sure ♪

♪ If he was
from the House of Lords ♪

- ♪ And the songbirds
are singing ♪

♪ Like they know the score ♪

♪ ♪

♪ And I love you,
I love you ♪

♪ I love you
like never before ♪

[indistinct chatter]

woman: Norma, James
is [indistinct].

♪ ♪

- I love you, James.

♪ ♪

Thank you.
man: Norma!

host: Okay, that was
the only Norma Jean.

Thank you, Norma Jean.
[applause]

Ice man.

[indistinct shouting]

[siren wailing]

John: First Nations.
So I want to, uh, start

by acknowledging
the news today

from the coroner's office

of a record month
of opioid deaths

here in British Columbia.

175 people have left us.

Those are our sons,
our daughters,

our fathers, our mothers,
our brothers, our sisters.

The poison drug supply
has intensified.

I want to lift my hands
to those frontline workers...

[water running]

- I-I started, uh,
keeping a list.

And then it-it was getting
to be

a little bit too much for me.

But, um, there have been
over 130 people

in the past four years
that I've known personally

that have died.
[stove clicks, ignites]

Like, it-it feels
a bit hopeless and despairing.

Right?

[liquid pouring]

It's just gone on too long.
You know?

You can't do it forever.
You can do it for a while.

[slurps]

[pet food clangs]

[phone rings]

Hello?

And so you're looking for him?
Like, he's missing?

I'm sorry to hear that. Um...

I know--I know he's been
struggling, right?

Yeah.

But, yeah, I haven't seen him.

I haven't seen him
in over a week.

- Just read whenever?

- Um, I'm just gonna cue you
when to go.

- All right.
- If you want to, like,

give it a look over,

and then whenever you're
ready--

- Vancouver is in
a state of emergency.

People are dying every day

from an unregulated,
contaminated drug supply.

Thousands of people
have lost their lives

to a drug supply
poisoned with fentanyl,

a cheap, synthetic opioid

detected in the majority
of overdose deaths.

We call upon
health professionals,

all levels of government,
and the public to join us

in advocating
for a safe supply of drugs

to protect and prevent
further loss

of our family members, friends,
neighbors, and loved ones.

- Awesome.
Got it. Thanks.

Norma: For Ronnie.
For a "See You Later" card

or, you know, just something.

We'll put something nice
in the card, you know,

from all the staff.

Oh, Sarah, want to sign
Ronnie's card?

Sarah: Oh, that's nice.

Norma: We're gonna miss him.

- So finally at the end,

when he found out
that Rey was a Palpatine...

Norma: Okay.

Sarah: Ronnie?
- Yeah?

Sarah: Are you coming?
- I am.

There was just a little
kerfuffle out front.

Norma: Okay, Ronnie.
Ronnie: You guys.

- I would like to present you
this award

on behalf of all the OPS staff.

We love you, Ronnie.
Here you go.

- [chuckles]
That's so amazing.

Aww.
woman: What does it say?

- It says,

"The Overdose Prevention
Society presents

"this Outstanding Service Award
to Ronnie Grigg,

the Narcan Jesus."
[laughter]

[applause]
Look at that.

There's even a picture
of him there.

Look at him.

That's so beautiful.
Thank you guys.

Kevin: You've always been
an inspiration

and I'm gonna miss you,
brother.

I'm really gonna miss you.

Ronnie: I'll miss you too.
- Yeah.

- There's a--there's, you know,
something in in my heart

that is-is a loss as well,

but I'm so grateful
for all of you and this place,

and Sarah
for this opportunity,

and Meagan for your support.
- Yeah.

- It's, uh, um, changed me
for the better.

Thank you for this.

Thank you for acknowledging
and honoring

and the effort you put into it.
I really appreciate it.

- We expect, uh,
photos and stuff on Facebook.

Ronnie: Yeah.
Norma: Yes! Yeah.

- Of you, uh, free
in the wilderness.

Ronnie: Yeah, yeah.
- Uh, running--

Meagan: In your natural state.

Norma: In your natural beauty.

- In your natural environment.

- [chuckles]
Ronnie: Yeah, yeah.

Don: Yeah, thank you, Ronnie,
for everything you've done.

Ronnie: Thank you, thank you.

- My name is Don Durban.

I am a elder
T'Sou-ke First Nations.

My cultural name
is Man in the Light.

Hychka siem, hychka
to the North Shore peoples,

and my relatives
and my friends,

and the Musqueam peoples also
for allowing us

to have this--
run this facility

and, uh--and help the people
we've been able to help,

including myself and others,

and, uh, the wonderful job
Ronnie has done.

Now,
hychka siem, hychka.
Ronnie: Thank you, Don.

[indistinct chatter]

[desk drawer clattering]

man: You're leaving,
like, for good?

- Yeah. It's just time,
you know?

I've been doing this
for a long time, right?

- Yeah, no doubt.
Ronnie: Ten years.

- It's a hard job.
It's a tough gig.

- Yeah.
And so I'd like to take

my foot off the pedal
a little bit if I'm able.

man: No doubt.

- So, um, yeah.

- Cool. Well, I'll miss you.

- You're looking for Ron?

Ronnie: Yeah.
- Ron MacKenzie,

he passed away.
- Oh, [bleep].

Meagan: He was super sick
from that last time

in the hospital.
- Oh, my goodness.

That night out here,

I thought he was dying
in that very moment.

Meagan: Yeah, there was
a log note at Insite about it.

And everyone's super sad.

I'm sorry to have dumped
all this sad news.

I'll be back in--
- I'd rather know than not.

Yeah.
Thanks, Meagan. [bleep].

[Kevin singing]

Meagan: Yes.

Yeah, she's very good.
She is great.

Very helpful.

Um, if you're asked to work...

Ronnie: Okay.

Stay well, my friend.

I love you, kiddo.
- I love you too, Ronnie.

You're a great man.

- Yeah,
you're an awesome woman.

- Bye.

- Thank you for everything
you've done here.

- And thank you
for everything, too.

[whimpers]

- Oh, no tears, man.

No, all the best.
And I'll see you--

I'll see you again.
- Okay.

Ronnie: Kev, stay solid, eh?
Kevin: You too, bro.

- Can I give you a hug, Marz?

Marz: That's what I'm trying
to do.

- See you, hon. Stay safe.

You know I'll-I'll be around
once the fall comes.

Stay safe, all right?

I'll miss you too.

Stay well, though, okay?

[indistinct]

- Come visit us, okay?
- I will, I will.

[somber cello music]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[lighter clicks]

♪ ♪

Sarah: I just don't know,

you know, the overall effect
of this on people.

And so, you know, you get
burnt out by

how could people just not do
what needs to be done?

And while we're having to
suffer through this

and talk to mothers and parents
that have lost children,

or children who've lost
their parents

and then have to go now
into foster care,

and all these kinds
of terrible situations

that I hear every day.

And, um, it's just--
it's heartbreaking

on a daily basis.

You hope that someday,
somebody, you know, grasps it

at a high enough level
that they just say,

"Well, I'm gonna do
whatever the hell it takes

"to make this right.

And we're gonna try
everything."

Um, so yeah.

[sighs]

Okay.

Awesome. That'd be great.

All right. Bye.

Don: I just wanted
to dedicate it

to all the people
who have lost

brothers or sisters to alcohol
or drug-related deaths.

This one's for you.

Comes from the heart.

[guitar playing "Blues Eyes
Crying in the Rain"]

♪ In the twilight glow ♪

♪ I see her ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Blue eyes
crying in the rain ♪

♪ ♪

♪ When we kissed goodbye
and parted ♪

♪ ♪

♪ I knew
we'd never meet again ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Love is like a dying ember ♪

♪ ♪

♪ And only memories remain ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Through the ages ♪

♪ I'll remember ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Blue eyes
crying in the rain ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Yeah.

man 1: Yes.
Man 2: There you go.

Good job.

Eh?

♪♪

announcer:
"Independent Lens" continues

with a short film, "Brother,"

as filmmaker Joanna Rundick
explores her sibling's

fragile recovery
from addiction.

[phone vibrating]

- Hi.
- Hi.

I have, like a million
questions to ask you.

But, go--
- Go ahead.

- Going back to--
and I don't even know where

to go sometimes,
it's so, so much.

I guess the question I have is,

why would you wanna be open
about your story?

- You know, it was--

there are probably a lot
of people out there

who have a pretty similar story
to mine,

whether--whether their
childhood trauma was

a learning disability or
some other childhood trauma,

there's--there's lots
of people

that have a story
similar to mine.

[papers whoosh, crinkle]

[somber music]

♪ ♪

And this is how the story goes

in terms of how opiates
took over my life.

♪ ♪

[cars honking]

In 2005, I hurt my back.

I went to this doctor.

He gave me 90 Norcos--

with a refill.

So what happens?

I'm taking, like, 10 a day.

So then I ran out of them,
and then what do I do?

I tell anyone who has Vicodin
that I'll buy it from them.

Okay, and that's it.

It was downhill from there.

That's when I started
using heroin.

[door creaks]
[wind whooshes]

♪ ♪

When you have thoughts, like,
racing in your head

and you're just freaked out
about everything

and you have no idea what
you're gonna do,

heroin is very good
at stopping that

cold in its tracks.

- I guess the question I have
is when that goes away,

what's left?

- Oh, just horror and misery.

♪ ♪

When the heroin starts
to wear off

and you start to get s--
you know, feel dope sick...

[ominous music]

It's the worst mental and
physical pain you can imagine.

- So then all those thoughts
rush in,

everything you were just
trying to avoid.

[high-pitched buzzing]
- Oh, ten times worse,

100 times worse.

♪ ♪

What's the solution to that?

Get more and stop it.

And that's why heroin is such
a hard drug to get off of,

because for, you know,
$10 or $15,

you can stop the pain.

I went into just
a three-day rehab,

the weekend, 'cause I had
a job at that point.

[somber music]

♪ ♪

And I go to the doctor.

I just want to deal
with the acute problem

'cause I got a job now.

I just want to detox.

And he goes, "Well, we don't
have an acute problem.

We have a chronic problem."

And that's why it didn't work.
- Yeah.

Because you were treating
a chronic disease

like an acute problem.

- Right. Right.

♪ ♪

- Where do you think
it all comes from?

- That I hate myself.

And I can't stop hating myself

for two minutes
to give myself a break

that allowed me to start over.

Addiction literally tears
the fabric of a family

at its roots.

And we live in this family
and we know

that my actions and all that
I put this family through

has ripped this family apart.

♪ ♪

I haven't used heroin
since January.

- Are you worried now
that you will use again?

- Of course I'm worried.

I know I'm an addict.

And it's a very strong force,

unfortunately, in my life,

and that I'll be fighting
for the rest of my life.

♪ ♪

I can't change the past, okay?

Believe me, I've tried.

I've tried in my mind.

I can't do that anymore.

I gotta stop doing that.
- Yeah.

- You know, I wanna live,

is what I guess I'm trying
to say.

- That's a big thing to say.

♪ ♪

[soft music]

♪♪

♪♪