Winnipeg woman who lost brother to overdose raising awareness, funds

A Winnipeg woman is raising funds for a recovery centre in the city after her brother died from an overdose in May.

It’s part of the International Overdose Awareness Day campaign, which aims to shed light on the stigma surrounding overdose death.

Devon Oliveira is doing her part to do the same, as she has been doing so the past two years.

“With addiction, there is generally a mental-health issue, and we are just living in a time where our mental-health resources are limited and there is not enough,” said Oliveira.

“I figured why not take my job, which I love doing, and earn something for a cause that I feel so passionately about.”

This year is a little different for Oliveira. She lost her brother Jordan Perrier to an overdose on May 1 – a day that changed her life.

“He was this person with this heart of gold that just had so much pain and struggle inside of him,” said Oliveira. “He was this person who was so well loved, and he knew that he was well loved, he just didn’t love himself the way we loved him.”

Devon Paige Oliveira (left) and her late brother Jordan Perrier. (Credit: Facebook/Devon Paige Oliveira)

She is now hoping to raise $1,000 this August and is planning to give all the proceeds to the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre, the treatment centre her brother went to.

“What Bruce Oake did, was they gave us the man that we knew back,” she said. “It was for a short time, but we had him. The man we knew, the man we loved. He was who he wanted to be.”

Bruce Oake Recovery Centre is a long-term treatment program for men suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. The facility was created in honour of Bruce Oake, who died in 2011 at the age of 25 due to an accidental drug overdose.

“I cannot recommend them enough. They were incredible,” said Oliveira.

RELATED:

• ‘Everybody’s responsibility’: Surging number of deadly overdoses in Manitoba
• Winnipeg sees 23 drug overdoses across three days, advocates urge caution
• Opioid-related deaths expected to claim 2,400 Canadian lives in 2022: Public Health Agency

In 2021, a record 407 Manitobans died from overdose – a jump from the 372 deaths in 2020.

Oliveira says it’s important for her to be a voice and share her brother’s story.

“He always said if his story could change one person’s outcome, then he did something right. So, we’re just on a mission to change more than one person’s story.”

International Overdose Awareness Day is Aug. 31.