Between January and August of this year, 1026 people have died of acute unintentional drug poisoning in Alberta. 
 
The Digital Overdose Response System (DORS) is a phone-based application that is now available in Airdrie, Balzac, Cheadle, Chestermere, Cochrane, De Winton, Okotoks, and Strathmore.
 
Samantha Ginter, a harm-reduction advocate, who herself lost her partner to drug poisoning said that the system is akin to having a friend by one's side.
 
"[It's] basically a way for folks who are using substances to use with somebody safe," Ginter said. "So unlike the in-person safe consumption sites, there is nobody beside you to intervene. If you have substance use poisoning, however, the safe person on the other end of the phone can implement an emergency plan."
 
Ginter said there are three applications that can be used in Alberta: NORS (The National Overdose Response Service), DORS, and The Brave App. She explained that once the application is downloaded, it is connected to the STARS ambulance service.
 
"You can click on when you're about to use you, you press a button, it's a timer, and it's one-minute intervals," Ginter said. "Once the timer is up, you can extend that timer for one minute up to 15 minutes or you can cancel it. Now if you do not cancel it or extend it, then that'll prompt STARS to call your phone. If you do not answer the call, then they will implement the emergency response, which is getting in touch with paramedics in your area."
 
Ginter's partner, Riley, the father of her son passed away in May 2021 from fentanyl poisoning and though NORS was available, Ginter said there is very little information available unless you seek it out explicitly. 
 
"Folks who use substances don't necessarily think about searching for a virtual safe consumption site," she said. "It's something that in my opinion needs to be shouted from the rooftops and they need to be constantly put out there because we had no idea that there were these numbers and apps that he [Riley] could download to he was using."
 
Ginter pointed out that both NORS and The Brave App are run by people who have lived experiences as they are either currently using substances themselves or who have used substances in the past.
 
"They have that empathetic viewpoint. They having a basic understanding of how these folks might feel and being able to talk to them on a level deeper than most."
 
The day Riley passed away, he called Ginter. The two spoke for 11 minutes and Ginter told him to reach out to an organization as he was feeling vulnerable.
 
"Unfortunately, they were unable to answer. But he was always willing to try something,"  she said. "If we would have known that there was a place you call and just say, 'hey, I'm using right now, can you guys stay on the phone with me until I'm done?'He absolutely would have used it."
 
According to the DORS application, "In 2020, Alberta opioid surveillance data shows 70 per cent of opioid-related deaths take place in private residences, often among those who are using while alone."
 
But Ginter pointed out that there are drawbacks to such applications as not everyone who uses substances may have a phone available to them and that there are differences between DORS and the other two applications, namely that with NORS and The Brave App, you need to need to have your own emergency plan. Ginter said that education and awareness is key, but so is normalizing harm prevention when it comes to substances. 
 
"We have fire extinguishers everywhere. Why? To prevent fires, even though fires don't always happen. We have first aid kits and AED kits in schools. They're everywhere. They're still there just in case to prevent harm. It's harm reduction," she said. "How come we don't have Naloxone kits readily available everywhere? There's so much stigma surrounding substance use because folks think it's a moral failing when reality it's just, it's a part of human nature."
 
Ginter said one of the biggest misconceptions of substance users is that they have a death wish. 
 
 "During Riley's last stay in treatment, one of his fears was relapsing and dying. The reason for that fear was because he didn't want to leave his son," she said.  "So I  think 100 per cent if we were familiar, and even just knew about NORS or The brave app, he would have 100 per cent used it."
 
Riley was 29 years old when he passed away.