Better harm reduction access will save lives, southwestern Manitoba addiction advocates say

Harm reduction advocates in southwestern Manitoba's biggest city say more education and better access to recovery tools are needed to save lives.

Curtis Genung, 42, knows first-hand how critical getting addiction help is. At 14 he began using substances. He says in the beginning it felt like a confidence boost, but soon his life became a mess.

"I got my first drug of choice … and then due to the progressive nature of addiction I upscaled to four different higher drugs," Genung said. "I just look back on it now and it was like Russian roulette."

He ended up in the hospital due to an overdose and spent time in jail while in active addiction. In 2022 Genung reached out for help after an attempted suicide.

One of the most dangerous impacts on his recovery is the stigma addiction faces, Genung said. When he was in active addiction everyone gave up on him, leaving him alone to figure out recovery on his own.

Genung doesn't want anyone else to face that isolation. That's why he shared his story at Brandon's Recovery Day celebration at the Riverbank Centre Saturday.

Recovery Day celebrates those in addiction recovery while ensuring the community learns about what helped them heal, says chair Antoinette Gravel-Ouellette. Each story shared reduces stigma — something that often prevents people from reaching out for help.

Harm reduction is a major part of those conversations, Gravel-Ouellette says.

Catherine Arnold, co-owner of Home Counseling and Wellness, says medicinal cannabis as a form of harm reduction was critical in her recovery from alcohol addiction.

"It saved my life," Arnold said. "If I had to be completely abstinent, I would have been dead."

Harm reduction is the knowledge that recovery looks different for absolutely everybody, she said. It focuses on minimizing the potentially harmful effects of substances, understands how complex addiction is and works to keep people alive so they can recover.

Some of her clients talk about stigma keeping them stuck in shame and guilt so they don't get the help they need, Arnold said. They can be afraid to admit what helps them best on their recovery journey.

Sharing stories on Recovery Day is part of their healing by normalizing using harm reduction and talking about addiction out in the open, she said. These shared experiences help people feel less isolated when they're recovering from addiction.

More resources needed

While Brandon is making strides in supporting harm reduction and recovery more is still needed, Gravel-Ouellette said. The city is working on building a sobering centre, but sge says there needs to be quicker access to resources.

Winnipeg is opening the province's first supervised consumption site and she hopes Brandon will be able to follow suit soon, Gravel-Ouellette said. Substances are getting more dangerous — a recent drug alert flagged a substance being sold as methamphetamine containing 21 per cent fentanyl.

A toxic drug supply makes overdoses more likely, she said.

"Most people are found alone," Gravel-Ouellette said. "When we have a supervised consumption site people bring their own substances to use … so they don't die.

"We have lost way too many people in our province and in our community."

The city needs to act fast because overdose deaths in the province and community continue to surge, she said. In 2023 the province recorded 445 drug-related deaths.

Genung wants to help people connect with the support they need.

He started Hope Wellness Transport Inc., a non-profit that bridges the gap between recovery and transportation. Genung wants to give people the option for a subsidized route to get every aspect of recovery they need — be it in or outside of Brandon.

"I don't like seeing my friends dying," Genung said. "It's just scary. That could be me. I'm only a bad decision away."