A grieving mother who lost her son to drug addiction wants to see more sober-living shelters for people in recovery.
Tina Olivero’s son, Ben, died last summer after years struggling with addiction.
Olivero founded Guardians of Recovery as a way to channel her grief and offer support to other families facing similar difficulties.
She and other concerned parents met with government officials this week to discuss their experiences and concerns and offer additional solutions.
Olivero says many shelters in this province are “low barrier,” meaning anyone there can continue to use drugs, which is unfair to those trying to avoid exposure to drug use.
“There’s a lot of people out there who want sobriety but they don’t want to be put back in the environment where everybody’s still using drugs,” she said. “It’s an environment that perpetuates drug use and that’s why the shelters aren’t safe.”
Olivero believes more options should be made available for people struggling with, or trying to recover from, addiction.
“So, where are our sober-living homes? Where are our sober-living facilities? This is what we’re advocating for.”