Remembering Bria: Victoria woman dies from fentanyl overdose

After trying to help his daughter break free from a drug addiction for more than a decade,Fernand Magninsays he had to prepare for the possibility he would one day lose her.

But it didn't make it any easier.

His daughter,Bria Magnin-Forster, 30, died from a fentanyl overdose in early May.

She wasusing alone in a bathroom at a shelter in Vancouver at the time, the Victoria father says.

"In the end, it wasthe police at the door at 5 a.m. telling you that she had died from an overdose the night before."

More than250peoplein B.C. diedfromdrug overdoses in the first four months of the year.Thedeath toll is nearlydouble what was reported during the same time period last year.

In April, shortly before Bria died, B.C. took the unprecedented stepofdeclaring apublic health emergency over therise indrug overdoses.

Bria'sfamily chose to share in her obituary noticethat her death was caused by a fentanyl overdose tohelp raise awareness about the human toll of the crisis.

"We felt that there are too many families that are being impacted by overdoses," Magnin says.

"We see very fewobituaries, if any,where people talk about the fact that the person died from a drug addiction."

Few warning signs

Magnin says there were few warning signs that hisbright, creative child would fall into a life of addiction.

She did well inschool. She was a talented musician and excelled atwriting.

"We never had any particular incident or troubles during her childhood," he said.

But in her teenaged years, Briadealt with an eating disorder. Issueswith anxiety followed, her father says.

By 2005, the family realized she was using drugs. It was crystal meth at first,Magninbelieves.

"From then on it was really a kind of ongoing struggle for many, many years."

There was hope afterBria hit a new lowin 2010 and was hospitalized for several months.

Following treatment, Magnin says she was placed in a Victoria group home where shefound the right supportand managed to stayclean.

But hesaysthe space was soon needed for someone elseand Bria movedto her own apartment.

"It was a critical moment. She was not ready to be on her own," he said. "Tobe left on your own to pull your life back together;it just wasn't enough for her."

When things fell apart again,Bria returned to thestreets. That was followed by a stay injail.

Upon her release in January, Magnin says there was a spot in atreatment program in the Lower Mainland.

Butthere was no legal requirement that kept her there, he says. The family later found out she left the three month program after three days.

On May 2, she was found dead from an overdose.BriaMagnin-Forsterwas 30 years old.

No easy answers

On June 9, addiction experts, drug users,health officials and police will meet in Vancouver to examine the response to B.C.'s overdose crisis and determine next steps.

As Magningrieves the loss of his daughter, he is also reflectingonwhat some of those steps should be.

He supports making supervised drug consumption services widely available as an immediate safety measurebut hopes solutions will address more than just preventingoverdosedeaths.

Magnin is calling for stronger mental health services and better communication with families of addicts as theynavigate the system.

He says he was often in the dark abouthis daughter's treatmentbecause of confidentiality requirements.

He would also like to see more of a focus on addressing illicit drug use as a mental health issue rather than as a crime and less emphasis on providing those services in the community, rather than structured facilities.

"It's not locking up everybody. It's providing enough support that they will be able to function and move in the right direction," Magnin said.

"It is a very tricky path to follow, but we just know that whathas been done up until now has not worked."