'These people were all worth saving': Photography project shines light on B.C.'s toxic drug deaths

As B.C. continues to see staggering, record-breaking numbers of deaths due to toxic drugs, a mom who lost her daughter is hoping a mobile photography project will help people better understand the devastating toll of the crisis.

Last week, a coroner's report was released showing that more people have died from illicit, toxic drugs in the first six months of 2022 than in any other year. The number of lives lost has now surpassed 10,000 since a public health emergency was declared in 2016.

But as relentlessly grim as these statistics are, Deb Bailey – whose daughter died in 2015 -- hopes a new project highlighting individual stories will draw more attention and spur more people to demand action.

"Sudden Silence: Hidden Voices" is a series of 16 photographs, each one embedded with a QR code that allows the viewer to read a story about someone who has died. It is designed to be mobile and the plan is to have it at each location in the region for one to two weeks. It's a collaboration between Moms Stop the Harm and the Vancouver Community Action Project.

"The idea behind this display is to let people know just who the people are that we're losing, because they're wonderful -- wonderful kids, wonderful young people. Many people have been touched by this crisis but some may not know," Bailey told CTV News Vancouver.

"We're trying to make a difference, build awareness and stop these deaths which are at an alarming number."

Bailey says while she has seen a shift in the conversation about these deaths that focuses more on the fact that the street-level supply is increasingly poisoned, the number of people dying has continued to climb. Bailey says ensuring access to a safe, regulated supply of clean drugs is necessary – and long overdue.

"The numbers are getting worse. The government tells us or they've done this and they're doing that. My question to them is then: Why are the numbers continually going up? Maybe we're doing the wrong things," she said.

"These people were all worth saving, they all should be here with us now."

Additional goals of the project include reducing stigma around drug use and helping people understand the scope of the crisis, which has claimed lives in every part of the province and every age group.