A 琉璃神社 teen鈥檚 recent overdose death is opening eyes about youth drug use and prompting change in the local harm reduction network.

鈥淲e all loved Chelsea (Christianson),鈥� said Angie Lohr, the face of HOPE Outreach, an organization whose volunteers hit 琉璃神社 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.

鈥淲hen we heard she died 鈥� it was really hard on all of us,鈥� Lohr said. 鈥淪he was such an amazing girl.鈥�

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

鈥淭here are so many kids in this on the streets鈥� if they can鈥檛 find a place to go they鈥檙e not going to get better,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to lose a whole generation.鈥�

Youth drug use

Although there are four youth detox beds set to open in 琉璃神社 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鈥檚 because the numbers don鈥檛 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鈥檚 also an uncomfortable topic.

鈥淎 lot of people don鈥檛 want to talk about the idea of a 14-year-old injecting themselves with drugs, but they do,鈥� said Interior Health鈥檚 Dr. Trevor Corneil, Tuesday.

鈥淭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.鈥�

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

鈥淥ne of the difficulties, although it can be thought of as both a positive and negative, is that there are three different government ministries鈥攅ducation, health and families鈥攄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,鈥� Corneil said.

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

House of Hope

鈥淵ou know what, when Chelsea died I decided then, I鈥檓 on a mission. I鈥檓 not going to see one more woman die on the streets,鈥� 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.

鈥淚鈥檒l even take teenagers if it鈥檚 needed,鈥� Lohr said, adding that she would require consent from parents to do so.

鈥淭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. 鈥�

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 鈥渁bstinence free space with harm reduction鈥� which means women who are using methadone, saboxone, THC pills or anything that would require a prescription are able to enter.

鈥淭reatment facilities will not take women who are on these drugs,鈥� she said.

鈥淪o, we work with (local resources) and the girls can get into treatment.鈥�

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

鈥淭his gives them a roof over their head and safe place to stabilize, so changes can start happening,鈥� she said.

鈥淧eople can鈥檛 make changes in a shelter or living on the street. They鈥檙e just in survival mode. You have to house somebody to make them feel safe to make changes.鈥�

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鈥檝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.

鈥淥ur goal is to donate the money from Chelsea鈥檚 story, to the youth shelter at The Boys and Girls Clubs of 琉璃神社 - 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,鈥� reads a GoFundMe account titled

鈥淥n April 22 Chelsea would have turned 18 - we will close the page on this day at 6 p.m.鈥�