Vernon

“A group of misfits, artists, and drug users operates a renegade safe injection site in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Love in the Time of Fentanyl is an intimate portrait of a community fighting to save lives and keep hope alive in a neighborhood ravaged by the overdose crisis.

Love in the Time of Fentanyl had its World Premiere at the 21st DOXA Documentary Film Festival, where it was featured as the Justice Forum Special Presentation and took home the Colin Low Award for Best Canadian Director!”

On International Overdose Awareness Day, the screening of Love in the Time of Fentanyl is a fundraiser to support the Vernon Entrenched People Against Discrimination (VEPAD), a Peer-lead grassroots organization at the forefront of the fight against Toxic Drugs in Vernon.

Event Timeline & Details:

4PM – Talking Circle at Cenotaph Park

Join us to recognize the countless loved ones lost to the Toxic Drug Crisis.

4PM – OPENING & LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

4:15-4:45PM – REMEMBER OUR LOVED ONES

5PM-6PM

• NALOXONE TRAINING (free kits provided) provided by Okanagan Naloxone & VEPAD
• DRUG TESTING INFO – learn about drug testing services in Vernon with newly available FTIR machine (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy).
• COMMUNITY RESOURCES – OKIB Harm Reduction Team, Vernon Native Housing Society, Mobile Response Team – IH, Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy – Drug Checking, Okanagan Naloxone, Moms Stop the Harm, Round Lake, VEPAD

6PM-7:30PM

• FILM SCREENING

7:30PM-9PM

• PANEL – Discussion and Q&A with people who have been directly affected by the Toxic Drug Crisis.
• KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
• Shane Dallyn, President of VEPAD
• Cheryl Jackson, Peer Activist & Community Volunteer
• Jennifer Glen, Team Lead at Vernon Downtown Mental Health & Substance Use Clinic
• Veronica Riguedell, FTIR Drug testing Technician at Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy
• Shannon Knezacky, Mother & Advocate, Moms Stop the Harm (MSTH), Vernon

Warning: This film contains scenes of substance use and overdose. It is not suitable for all audiences, and some individuals may find the film triggering. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.