4 Years After Son S Death Vancouver Mother Celebrates Overdose Awareness Day

Inside are some of the ashes of her oldest son, Jordan Hunter Karhun, who died in 2018 at age 25 after smoking what he thought was heroin but turned out to be fentanyl. Shortly after Jordan’s death, Shuster learned about International Overdose Awareness Day. She brought a photo of him to an event in downtown Vancouver where she was introduced to Moms Stop the Harm, a network of mothers and families directly affected by the toxic drug crisis. On Wednesday, a few weeks after the fourth anniversary of Jordan’s death, she is celebrating overdose awareness day with the same group of mothers who are equally committed to ending the drug crisis. “This has been going on since 2016 and it’s just heartbreaking,” Shuster told CBC. “We need a secure supply. We have to stop this.” WATCHES | Sharene Shuster talks about her son and the ongoing opioid crisis:

Remembering lives lost on Overdose Awareness Day

Since losing her son to an overdose in 2018, Sarin Schuster has joined other activists in calling for more to be done about the ongoing opioid crisis. This Overdose Awareness Day, Schuster and other affected family members will gather to remember their loved ones and bring attention to their cause.

“Jordan was different”

Jordan Carhoun was born deaf and received a cochlear implant when he was two years old. He quickly learned to sign, read lips and eventually speak while growing up. Shuster says he was an honor student who learned French and Japanese in school. He was popular, outgoing and happy. loved animals and sports. But toward the end of high school, his mother says things got tough for him. “Jordan was different,” he said. “When the girls came in, they teased him and that’s when the depression started.” “He died on a Thursday and he had a brand new job as of that Monday at the Vancouver airport as an electrician,” Sarin Schuster said of her son Jordan. “He had it all going for him.” (Rafferty Baker/CBC) Shuster says a friend introduced Jordan to heroin and he quickly became addicted. But it wasn’t until months later, when his girlfriend Jasmine caught him smoking the drug, that the family found out. Shuster says he was “so ashamed” and told his family he wanted help getting off the drug. She remembers calling rehabs and being told the waiting list was four to five months long. The family was fortunate to meet someone who worked at Together We Can, an addiction treatment center, and Jordan was quickly accepted through their connections. “He was on a road to recovery. He had been to rehab, he was doing great,” Shuster said. Then Jordan learned that two of his friends he’d met in rehab had died — and he relapsed. “He went outside and what he thought he was buying was heroin,” she said. Jordan’s autopsy report showed he had ingested 100 percent pure fentanyl. “He didn’t stand a chance.”

Breaking the stigma

Shuster points to Jordan as an example of the toxic drug crisis that is pervasive throughout British Columbia and not limited to Vancouver’s Downtown East Side. The family lived on the west side of Vancouver and Jordan attended private school until grade 12. Many of the people who die are teenagers and young adults, struggling with mental health issues and using alone, Shuster said. On the day he died, Jordan was found by his girlfriend, slumped over the bathtub in the basement apartment they shared at his parents’ home. Shuster believes he and countless other young people who have died since 2016 were using drugs as a coping mechanism. “They’re not there to get high and party,” Shuster said. “They self-medicate to ease the pain and escape.” On Wednesday, Shuster and other mothers, fathers, family members and friends will wear purple and gather to honor their lost loved ones. BC Place, Rogers Stadium, Science World, the Burrard Street Bridge, City Hall and other locations across the city will turn on purple lights as part of overdose awareness day. “And also all over Robson Street there are ribbons tied everywhere with our children’s names on them,” she said. In the ribbon for Jordan, Schuster will give details about her son: “Telling people: He was 25. He was an electrician. He had a partner alive. He had siblings, friends, family.” Events will be held across Metro Vancouver offering first aid training and handing out naloxone kits — a drug used to temporarily combat opioids. There will be rallies calling for safe supplies, organizations handing out testing kits and tested drugs, and candlelight vigils in memory of the dead. “Our goal is just to raise awareness, stop the stigma and save lives,” Shuster said. “Every minute, every hour, I think of my son.” Sharene Shuster keeps some of her son Jordan Carhoun’s ashes in a locket around her neck. Carhoun, 25, died of a toxic drug overdose in 2018. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)

title: “4 Years After Son S Death Vancouver Mother Celebrates Overdose Awareness Day Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-15” author: “Hope Bowen”

Inside are some of the ashes of her oldest son, Jordan Hunter Karhun, who died in 2018 at age 25 after smoking what he thought was heroin but turned out to be fentanyl. Shortly after Jordan’s death, Shuster learned about International Overdose Awareness Day. She brought a photo of him to an event in downtown Vancouver where she was introduced to Moms Stop the Harm, a network of mothers and families directly affected by the toxic drug crisis. On Wednesday, a few weeks after the fourth anniversary of Jordan’s death, she is celebrating overdose awareness day with the same group of mothers who are equally committed to ending the drug crisis. “This has been going on since 2016 and it’s just heartbreaking,” Shuster told CBC. “We need a secure supply. We have to stop this.” WATCHES | Sharene Shuster talks about her son and the ongoing opioid crisis:

Remembering lives lost on Overdose Awareness Day

Since losing her son to an overdose in 2018, Sarin Schuster has joined other activists in calling for more to be done about the ongoing opioid crisis. This Overdose Awareness Day, Schuster and other affected family members will gather to remember their loved ones and bring attention to their cause.

“Jordan was different”

Jordan Carhoun was born deaf and received a cochlear implant when he was two years old. He quickly learned to sign, read lips and eventually speak while growing up. Shuster says he was an honor student who learned French and Japanese in school. He was popular, outgoing and happy. loved animals and sports. But toward the end of high school, his mother says things got tough for him. “Jordan was different,” he said. “When the girls came in, they teased him and that’s when the depression started.” “He died on a Thursday and he had a brand new job as of that Monday at the Vancouver airport as an electrician,” Sarin Schuster said of her son Jordan. “He had it all going for him.” (Rafferty Baker/CBC) Shuster says a friend introduced Jordan to heroin and he quickly became addicted. But it wasn’t until months later, when his girlfriend Jasmine caught him smoking the drug, that the family found out. Shuster says he was “so ashamed” and told his family he wanted help getting off the drug. She remembers calling rehabs and being told the waiting list was four to five months long. The family was fortunate to meet someone who worked at Together We Can, an addiction treatment center, and Jordan was quickly accepted through their connections. “He was on a road to recovery. He had been to rehab, he was doing great,” Shuster said. Then Jordan learned that two of his friends he’d met in rehab had died — and he relapsed. “He went outside and what he thought he was buying was heroin,” she said. Jordan’s autopsy report showed he had ingested 100 percent pure fentanyl. “He didn’t stand a chance.”

Breaking the stigma

Shuster points to Jordan as an example of the toxic drug crisis that is pervasive throughout British Columbia and not limited to Vancouver’s Downtown East Side. The family lived on the west side of Vancouver and Jordan attended private school until grade 12. Many of the people who die are teenagers and young adults, struggling with mental health issues and using alone, Shuster said. On the day he died, Jordan was found by his girlfriend, slumped over the bathtub in the basement apartment they shared at his parents’ home. Shuster believes he and countless other young people who have died since 2016 were using drugs as a coping mechanism. “They’re not there to get high and party,” Shuster said. “They self-medicate to ease the pain and escape.” On Wednesday, Shuster and other mothers, fathers, family members and friends will wear purple and gather to honor their lost loved ones. BC Place, Rogers Stadium, Science World, the Burrard Street Bridge, City Hall and other locations across the city will turn on purple lights as part of overdose awareness day. “And also all over Robson Street there are ribbons tied everywhere with our children’s names on them,” she said. In the ribbon for Jordan, Schuster will give details about her son: “Telling people: He was 25. He was an electrician. He had a partner alive. He had siblings, friends, family.” Events will be held across Metro Vancouver offering first aid training and handing out naloxone kits — a drug used to temporarily combat opioids. There will be rallies calling for safe supplies, organizations handing out testing kits and tested drugs, and candlelight vigils in memory of the dead. “Our goal is just to raise awareness, stop the stigma and save lives,” Shuster said. “Every minute, every hour, I think of my son.” Sharene Shuster keeps some of her son Jordan Carhoun’s ashes in a locket around her neck. Carhoun, 25, died of a toxic drug overdose in 2018. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)