CRIME IN QATHET PART II: Speaking with Maggie Hathaway

Crime, Courts & Corrections: Why qathet's criminals are bouncing out of jail & what's coming next

BY ISABELLE SOUTHCOTT AND PIETA WOOLLEY

None of the current underlying challenges are new.

In Powell River, Maggie Hathaway held the Protective Services and Housing Portfolio as a City Counsellor since 2008. Her background served her well; she was a paralegal with the BC Legal Aid Society, a constituency assistant to MLA Nicholas Simons, and board chair of the Source Club Society, which provides services for locals living with mental illnesses. She ran for Mayor this fall; because she didn’t win, she is off City Council for the first time in 14 years.

In describing how much pioneering work and will has gone in to addressing qathet’s mental health and addictions crisis over her terms in office, Maggie illustrates that the challenges being fought are vast.

By 2016, she recalled, overdose death from fentanyl was becoming prevalent. That year a Provincial emergency was declared. In her role as assistant to the MLA, Maggie had three moms come to her office; two of them had recently lost their sons to overdose and another death appeared imminent. “We cried and vowed to take action,” she said.

She helped organize a ‘Fentanyl Forum.’ The public needed to know about this deadly drug and that it was rampant in Powell River. Figuring not many folks would show up, Maggie secured a small venue, The Community Resource Centre.

“It was so crowded people were forced to stand outside,” Maggie recalled. “There were doctors, nurses, paramedics, fire, police, family members and to her surprise, users themselves.”

AFTER FENTANYL CAME, BEFORE THE CRIME WAVE: Maggie Hathaway’s last day as MLA Nicholas Simons’ constituency assistant in 2018. Nicholas is now the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction.

As Powell River had the second highest death rate per capita in the Vancouver Coastal Health region (second only to the core of Vancouver), funding was provided to establish a Community Action Team (CAT) to fight the crisis.

By December 2018, fentanyl was detected in 87% of overdose deaths; the majority being males between the ages of 30 and 59. Powell River and qathet were disproportionately affected.

The Provincially-funded Community Action Team initially had over 70 members including City staff, police, paramedics, health care professionals from VCH and Tla’amin Health, and peers (users).

In 2019, the B.C. Centre on Substance Use opened its first rural VCH community overdose prevention hub in Powell River. This provided a safe consumption space as well as a place where users could connect with health professionals.

In December 2019 the 44-unit supported housing building on Joyce Avenue opened. Three months later, the COVID-19 pandemic was declared.

“Unfortunately this meant many of the supportive housing programs did not get off the ground, but we continued to provide Naloxone training and provided kits,” said Maggie. “At a minimum, we were saving lives.”

The CAT also distributed 40 cell phones with the Lifeguard App installed – a mechanism to prevent overdose deaths when people use alone.

During the Tla’amin COVID-19 lockdown, PR CAT provided harm reduction initiatives on site. They were able to assist with doctor issued prescriptions for those sheltering in place. “This program continues today and is now successfully embedded in Tla’amin Health,” said Maggie.

In 2021, Powell River became the first rural community in Canada to open an IOAT (Injectable Opioid Agonist Therapy) Clinic. This assists those who use illicit drugs to get on pharmaceutical programs.

Last year the CAT established the CAT for youth which provides local youth a connection to support agencies and counsellors.

In May, 2022 Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Shelia Malcolmson, announced $6 million in funding for Complex Care Housing in Powell River:

“The complex-care housing spaces in Powell River will be located in one or more central sites and will be delivered in partnership with the Tla’amin Nation, Lift Community Services and Vancouver Coastal Health,” Maggie explained. “In addition to the new complex-care housing spaces, Powell River will also get four stabilization or respite spaces that will offer enhanced, short-term supports to people in the community, including from the Tla’amin Nation. These sites will be ready in late 2022.”

Serving and sustaining those who are struggling, Maggie said, isn’t mutually exclusive of being critical of what’s in place – or challenging the current crime wave.

“Citizens deserve to feel safe in their homes” said Maggie. “Powell River can do better.

“Next steps will be to meet with B.C. Housing to discuss proceeding with treatment facilities, in house programming, as well as ensuring there is 24 hour security at all Supportive Housing projects. For a small, isolated community we are doing extremely well with our harm reduction programming”.

She also noted that the last City Council brought a motion to the September meeting of the Union of BC Municipalities – which passed: “Alternative Crime Reduction Strategies.”

The motion calls on the Province to fund alternatives to the current system, including a call for courts, policing and social services to all work more closely (as the Repeat Offenders report calls for, too). It also asked that those with mental health and addictions who commit crimes be sent for treatment and supports, rather than jail time.

Municipalities, in other words, are seeing close-up how much policing, courts and corrections are absorbing the mental health and addictions crisis – and cities are pushing back.

An end to surging crime: Part 2

This article is the second in qathet Living magazine’s three-part series on crime in this region.

Part 1 explored the crimes themselves: what is happening, and what is the impact on this community?

Part 2 dives in to courts and corrections: how changes to our justice system are playing out locally.

Part 3 asks what those who are perpetrating the crimes need to be able to stop harming this community and themselves, and re-join society.

We hope these stories help inform the current conversation about crime, justice, addiction, and solutions. And, we hope to hear from you.

Please send letters (ideally before the 20th of the month) to isabelle@prliving.ca.