People First Radio – June 04, 2026People First Radio – June 04, 2026
People First Radio
Conversations range from a BC drug checking study and its role in harm reduction, to an expanded Nanaimo shelter and a Men’s Shed keeping older men connected while they search for a new space. The episode links safer drug use, housing support and social connection as key pieces in recovery and wellbeing.
0:00•5 Jun 2026
Drug Checking, New Shelter Beds and a Shedless Men’s Club
Episode Overview
- Drug checking services can prompt some people to reduce risk by discarding drugs, taking smaller doses, or not using alone when unexpected substances are found.
- Benzodiazepines mixed into opioids make overdoses harder to reverse and complicate treatment for opioid use disorder, heightening the importance of drug checking data.
- Harm reduction services like drug checking and supervised consumption are essential tools, but stigma and location can limit who feels able to use them.
- The Salvation Army Centre of Hope’s new wing in Nanaimo will add 34 beds, expanded meal services and programming aimed at helping guests move towards greater stability.
- Nanaimo’s Men’s Shed shows how regular meetups and practical projects can reduce isolation among older men, even while the group searches for a new permanent space.
“Drug checking can play an important role in harm reduction in trying to curb the deaths associated with the unregulated drug supply.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This edition of People First Radio zooms in on the gritty, day-to-day realities of drug use, homelessness, and community connection across British Columbia. First up, Assistant Professor and BC Centre on Substance Use scientist Lianping Ti talks about a study of around 450 people who used drug checking services. Nearly 40% found unexpected active ingredients in their supply, most often benzodiazepines mixed into opioids.
Some chose to throw the drugs away, others took smaller doses, but as Ti puts it, “drug checking can play an important role in harm reduction in trying to curb the deaths associated with the unregulated drug supply.” She explains how tools like FTIR spectroscopy and test strips, paired with practical advice like “don’t use alone” and “use a little at a time”, give people crucial information in a chaotic toxic drug environment.
The focus then shifts to downtown Nanaimo, where Salvation Army Centre of Hope executive director Bern Muller walks through a brand-new four-storey expansion.
With 34 extra beds, a commercial kitchen, and plans for winter shelter space, the centre aims to offer not just a bed and a hot meal, but caseworker support, chaplain visits, and links to community services that can help people move “in a journey towards wellness and recovery.” Finally, the Nanaimo and District Men’s Shed shows another side of recovery and wellbeing: connection.
Vice president John Boudreaux and member Jim Delorme share how their “shedless” group keeps meeting for walks, coffees, and community projects while hunting for a new workshop. Jim jokes that the Shed has “given me a longer lifespan because my wife isn’t wanting to choke me,” but behind the humour sits a serious message about isolation, ageing, and how simple social contact can keep men from feeling alone.
If you’re curious about how harm reduction, housing support, and community hangouts all link into healthier lives, this conversation might give you plenty to think about.
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