Grieving family on brink of loosing apartment

By, Marley Durant Oct. 26, 2022

Elizabeth Smith handed her partner, Andre “Skooby” Bird, his lunch.

“I love you, be safe Skooby.”

She kissed him goodbye before he headed out the door to finish a tattoo he was working on with one of his friends.

Smith went to tend to their six-year-old daughter, Kathleen, which meant nap time.

It felt like she only closed her eyes for a second before the sound of sirens wailing outside woke her up.

Grabbing a cigarette, Smith walked out of her apartment onto the steps, watching the group slowly break apart as the paramedics went to work on the man on the ground.

The man was Bird.

A neighbor rushed over to Smith as she collapsed to the ground.

The paramedics gave Bird naloxone, trying to revive him.

But he had no pulse, and his lips were blue.

“Why the fuck didn’t anyone come get me?” Smith screamed.

She is still asking that question.

Bird died that day this May, but the grief has gotten harder to deal with.

Smith is looking for another place to live.

Her income alone is not enough to cover their two-bedroom apartment in downtown Toronto.

There aren't many income supports available for someone in the situation Smith faces.

She has a friend working as a grief counselor who visits when she has time, but apart from help from friends in the area, Smith is afraid she won't be able to keep up with the bills.

“His mother wants us to move out West, but I do not want to leave the market, the idea of having to move terrifies me. This is our family.”

Bird was popular in the local music scene in Toronto. And he was respected among the homeless community.

Bird had sobered up and was no longer using hard drugs.

“He had so much going for him,” Smith said.

Smith is still confused about why he used fentanyl, something he had never used before.

Family friend Kevin Bruce hosted a fundraiser rave recently where people could purchase shirts in support of Smith and her family.

The event had over 300 people in attendance.

All the funds went to Smith to help her get school supplies for Kathleen.

Andre (Scooby) Bird, and his dog Joe. Taken from Bird's Facebook.

This situation occurs every day in Toronto, and it is starting to happen in Charlottetown too, said Morgan Martin from PEI Health and Wellness.

The PEI health department has been working on harm reduction initiatives for several months with no set timeline for when they will unfold.

Last week, a person overdosed in front of the outreach centre on Euston Street.

Ashley Saunders is a resident of the apartment building across the street from the centre. She knew the person had died.

Ashely Saunders outside of her apartment on Euston Street, she has been living across from the outreach centre in Charlottetown since March 2022 and wishes there was more help for those struggling with addiction. (Photo by, Marley Durant)

“He was very very young. People saw him on the street all day wandering around, he definitely needed help,” Saunders said.

“The Island wasn’t always like this.”

She has been sober for 10 years after struggling with her own addiction.

When she was an addict, there were always stories of people in her circle overdosing, but she never saw it happening in the streets of Charlottetown, she said.

“I hope the harm reduction does something soon, I can’t keep watching people overdose in the front lawn.”

She has witnessed four overdoses since moving to her apartment in March, this was the first she can recall the overdose resulting in a death.

Martin also said in an email directing to the health and wellness website that the Island has noticed an increase in overdoses since 2019.

“Fentanyl has appeared in P.E.I. Anyone who consumes street drugs might be at risk.”

More education for Islanders on overdoses and how to help someone who might be overdosing is needed, Saunders said.

“I think a lot of people just think, oh the next person will get them some help, but it might be too late for them.”