People walked from Direction 180's Gottingen Street location to the Halifax Commons, where a moment of silence was held for the lives lost to overdose. Photo: Anastasia Payne

A non-profit, opioid treatment program in Halifax walked in honour of those who’ve died of overdose today to mark International Overdose Awareness Day. 

Direction 180, a program of the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre saw dozens of people turn out for a walk from Gottingen Street to the Halifax Commons, where the group observed a moment of silence for those who’ve died of overdose and a moment for their families. 

After the walk, the group read several calls to action and acknowledged gaps in care for people with addictions. 

Program Manager, Paula Martin, says people with substance abuse problems are better served by non-profits than government programs. 

“The programs and services do fall on the nonprofit organizations,” Martin said. “And simply because we’re able to meet people where they’re at, we’re able to change our policies, change our procedures, to really meet the needs of the population we’re serving.” 

Oftentimes, government programs don’t get the same uptake as community-based programs, Martin said. 

“We need to stop funding the larger systems that have so many barriers in place that people aren’t accessing those services.” 

Direction 180 gets most of its funding through the Nova Scotia Health Authority and federal Health Canada Grants. Those grants only offer funding for a limited time, which means some programs will only run once, despite high uptake and positive feedback. 

“It’s this constant circle where you’re just seeking alternative funding to fill in the gaps to meet people where they’re at.

In Nova Scotia, 33 people have died of an opioid overdose in 2022.

“We do what we can on a shoestring budget, but we need more funding.”