A Kelowna teen乌鸦传媒檚 recent overdose death is opening eyes about youth drug use and prompting change in the local harm reduction network.

乌鸦传媒淲e all loved Chelsea (Christianson),乌鸦传媒� said Angie Lohr, the face of HOPE Outreach, an organization whose volunteers hit Kelowna streets nightly, handing out care packages and harm reduction kits to the street-entrenched population.

Through that work she and her volunteers got to know the 17-year-old who fatally overdosed March 19, taking what she believed to be heroin. She was bright, friendly and clearly in need of some help.

乌鸦传媒淲hen we heard she died 乌鸦传媒� it was really hard on all of us,乌鸦传媒� Lohr said. 乌鸦传媒淪he was such an amazing girl.乌鸦传媒�

Lohr, who battled her own addiction issues and recently lost her daughter to a fentanyl overdose in the Lower Mainland, said it乌鸦传媒檚 a tragic turn of events that will only be repeated unless something changes 乌鸦传媒� change she intends to contribute to.

乌鸦传媒淭here are so many kids in this on the streets乌鸦传媒� if they can乌鸦传媒檛 find a place to go they乌鸦传媒檙e not going to get better,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e going to lose a whole generation.乌鸦传媒�

Youth drug use

Although there are four youth detox beds set to open in Kelowna in the next month, drug use in that demographic does not get much notice in the ongoing conversations about the fentanyl crisis.

In part, it乌鸦传媒檚 because the numbers don乌鸦传媒檛 support it.

Recent statistics from the BC Ministry of Health show that four out of five overdose deaths were men and more than half were between the ages of 30 and 49.

It乌鸦传媒檚 also an uncomfortable topic.

乌鸦传媒淎 lot of people don乌鸦传媒檛 want to talk about the idea of a 14-year-old injecting themselves with drugs, but they do,乌鸦传媒� said Interior Health乌鸦传媒檚 Dr. Trevor Corneil, Tuesday.

乌鸦传媒淭hat is a big first step for the public; acknowledging that the situation occurs. Once you recognize that gap exists of how to respond to that issue, you can start to work on providing services to address it.乌鸦传媒�

Dealing with children addicted to drugs, he explained, can also be a struggle because there are so many organizations to navigate.

乌鸦传媒淥ne of the difficulties, although it can be thought of as both a positive and negative, is that there are three different government ministries乌鸦传媒攅ducation, health and families乌鸦传媒攄ealing with this issue on respective levels, so they all have to come together in creating integrated solutions to help fill those gaps that exist,乌鸦传媒� Corneil said.

Lohr doesn乌鸦传媒檛 see the positive side of this bureaucracy so she乌鸦传媒檚 forging ahead with another plan that乌鸦传媒檚 focused specifically on adult women, but could also help teens in need of finding a safe place before getting off drugs.

House of Hope

乌鸦传媒淵ou know what, when Chelsea died I decided then, I乌鸦传媒檓 on a mission. I乌鸦传媒檓 not going to see one more woman die on the streets,乌鸦传媒� Lohr said.

This weekend Lohr re-opened House of Hope, a low-barrier safe house for women. She has five beds available on a month-by-month basis for women in need. Five more beds are expected to open by next month.

乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檒l even take teenagers if it乌鸦传媒檚 needed,乌鸦传媒� Lohr said, adding that she would require consent from parents to do so.

乌鸦传媒淭here are just so many obstacles that prevent women from moving forward and I had to do something. I see so many women suffering I had to try to make this work. 乌鸦传媒�

The safe house is where women who may want to go into treatment or who are looking to change their lives, end homelessness or abusive relationships can go.

Lohr described it as 乌鸦传媒渁bstinence free space with harm reduction乌鸦传媒� which means women who are using methadone, saboxone, THC pills or anything that would require a prescription are able to enter.

乌鸦传媒淭reatment facilities will not take women who are on these drugs,乌鸦传媒� she said.

乌鸦传媒淪o, we work with (local resources) and the girls can get into treatment.乌鸦传媒�

As of right now, there乌鸦传媒檚 a four to eight week wait time to get into addiction help, said Lohr, and that乌鸦传媒檚 too long to wait unless there乌鸦传媒檚 some stability.

乌鸦传媒淭his gives them a roof over their head and safe place to stabilize, so changes can start happening,乌鸦传媒� she said.

乌鸦传媒淧eople can乌鸦传媒檛 make changes in a shelter or living on the street. They乌鸦传媒檙e just in survival mode. You have to house somebody to make them feel safe to make changes.乌鸦传媒�

If a woman chooses to go into treatment, which is about 30 days, they can reserve their bed so they have some place to call home once they乌鸦传媒檝e completed their program.

She will also work with women who have been incarcerated, so they can learn how to function within the boundaries of society.

HOPE Outreach has only been open a week, and Lohr has yet to fully figure out funding. To contact Lohr go to .

GoFundMe

Family and friends of Chelsea Christianson are also making an effort to raise awareness on the issues of youth mental health and addictions and increase the services available.

乌鸦传媒淥ur goal is to donate the money from Chelsea乌鸦传媒檚 story, to the youth shelter at The Boys and Girls Clubs of Kelowna - a place where Chelsea often found comfort, support, and friendship, as well as The Maple Springs Bible Camp where she received support and unconditional love over the years,乌鸦传媒� reads a GoFundMe account titled

乌鸦传媒淥n April 22 Chelsea would have turned 18 - we will close the page on this day at 6 p.m.乌鸦传媒�