There is something to be said for experience. In any career, it is the knowledge you gain from trial and error that can set you apart from others in your field.
This is especially true for complex issues like drug use and addiction.
That’s why the Réseau ACCESS Network has a peer engagement program. It’s program designed to encourage and support those who are habitual drug users, or are addicted, to use their lived experiences to help inform the harm reduction strategies that the Réseau ACCESS Network uses.
One woman, Pamela Nahwegezhic, exemplified the possibilities of this program. Those who worked with her told Sudbury.com that despite her struggles she brought the wisdom of her lived experience and the ability to reflect on her own behaviours and was able to use those lessons to help others.
Sadly, Nahwegezhic, an Anishnaabe-kwe (woman) from the Turtle Clan, died on March 13 of this year of an accidental overdose. She was a mother of two and a grandmother of 12.
Her mother, Donna Simpson of Sheguiandah, is deeply mourning the loss of her child. Simpson is a mother of five who has already lost two other children.
Nahwegezhic’s death is deeply felt by her family, her loved ones and those who she worked with, and on behalf of, at Réseau ACCESS Network.
But it is Nahwegezhic’s life that was celebrated on June 29 when members of her family and her coworkers gathered at the white crosses memorial in downtown Sudbury. The grassroots memorial site at the corner of Paris and Brady streets was born in the fall of 2020 after Sudbury woman Denise Sandul placed a white cross in a public place in memory of her son, Myles Keaney, who had died of an overdose.
Since that time, the memorial has grown to more than 100 crosses, each one marking a life stolen by the opioid epidemic.
Because of the sheer amount of love everyone at Réseau ACCESS Network had for Nahwegezhic and the gift of knowledge she gave to them, a memorial white cross was placed at the site in Nahwegezhic’s honour. Spearheaded by Jessica Cutler, a peer engagement co-ordinator at Réseau, the cross is unique.
It is a medicine wheel, wrapped in sweetgrass from Atikameksheng Anishinaabek with Nahwegezhic’s name scrolled on the front.
“She was a beautiful person,” said Cutler.
On June 29, her friends, fellow volunteers, community and family members gathered to say goodbye to her, to usher her to the spirit world with drumming and ceremony, the place her mother hoped she would find peace.
“She worked so hard with them (Réseau), and we all miss her so much,” said Simpson. “ I'm just trying to get through the day. That's all. And I'm making this day as wonderful as possible.”
Simpson wanted others to know the story of her daughter’s life and all the work she had done, so she invited Sudbury.com to the service.
There, her brother, Rodney, said that as a child, his sister was “a tough kid to keep up with.”
Her friends at Réseau ACCESS Network also remember that ‘tough to keep up with’ spirit. In fact, they learned from it.
The peer engagement program at Réseau is built to encourage those with lived experience to help with outreach, both for the clients who need it and the direct support outreach workers who could learn from it.
Kaela Pelland, a peer engagement co-ordinator at Reseau, met Nahwegezhic early in her time as an outreach worker.
“I was an outreach worker for years and I knew Pam on the street and in passing, we would chat and stuff like that,” said Pelland.
Three years ago, Pelland welcomed Nahwegezhic into the peer engagement training program at Réseau ACCESS Network, obtaining a certificate upon completion.
“That's when Pam got more engaged and did the training, and then became a community worker,” said Pelland.
Nahwegezhic also trained her trainers.
“There's an instance where one of our old employees said something insensitive to her. Not intentionally, but still did,” said Pelland. “But what's great about Pam, when someone rubbed her the wrong way, she made sure they knew it. And she made sure we knew it so that we could work on it. So it was really really beneficial for us.”
It's that strong will, the tenacity she displayed, as well as love and compassion that will leave a lasting impression. Pelland said that is the part that makes all of this so difficult, the fact that Nahwegezhic was so proud of herself and her work.
“That's probably been the most emotional part for me is that I got to see the ripple effects of her impact, with her engagement with us,” said Pelland. “And how she ran and told her mom how proud she was to have this certificate.”
Nahwegezhic was a drug user. But that’s incidental. What she truly was, was a proud mother and grandmother, who loved all her babies dearly. She was a beloved daughter and sister. She was a friend to many and a person with will enough to see acknowledge her own struggles, to learn from them, and to pass that learning on to others.
Nehwegezhic’s name now joins so many others at the downtown memorial, row upon row. She was born on Jan. 26, 1968. She died March 13, at the age of 53.
