The parents of a Vancouver teenager who died of an overdose in November spent what would have been his 17th anniversary to his high school to remember him and raise awareness of the toxic drug crisis.
Tyler Dunlap died in November after consuming drugs containing fentanyl.
His mother and his father wanted to remember him on his birthday, so they spent the morning in secondary Kitsilano by distributing brochures and joining friends, classmates and their son’s teachers in a moment of silence.
Karen and Greg Dunlap declared that they hoped that by sharing the history of their son, this will arouse more discussions on dependence and mental health.
“Our son died of a fentanyl overdose, which he did not know what he was taking,” said Greg. “It happens to everyone, it can happen to anyone.”
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Karen said people must be able to speak openly about the dangers of ingestion of unknown substances.
“I don’t think it’s a conversation happening in schools, and children think they are completely invincible, and they are not,” she said.
Monday marked nine years since British Columbia has expressed public health emergency In response to the toxic drug crisis.
More than 16,000 lives have been lost due to unregulated toxic drugs since the emergency declaration in 2016.
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