Teen overdose brings Cranbrook’s drug crisis to forefront

Friends, classmates, and community members walk in memory of  a teen lost to a drug overdose

While it might be a sensitive topic to discuss, the message from organizers of a walk and vigil Saturday (May 25) for a young Cranbrook girl that died of a drug overdose is that it’s time the subject be brought out in the open.

Community advocate Jenna Cole said enough is enough. In her words, the dying has to stop…

She believes change will only come if the community stops turning a blind eye to the problem and demands change…

Over 100 friends, classmates, and community members took part in a walk in memory of Caitlyn, a 13-year-old Laurie Middle School student, who lost her life to drugs earlier this month.

A close-to-one-hour vigil followed at the city’s skate park, not far, in fact, from where the teen attended school.

Cole saying there remains a clear stigma in society attached to addictions…

Cole added it’s important to remember that everyone struggling with addiction is a person, they have a name, they have a family, and they deserve to get treatment for their addiction.

What’s missing, she believes, is a comprehensive follow-up that, once a person becomes clean, they’re properly integrated back into the community with a proper support network.