Passersby are being urged to check on anyone who appears to be in distress or unconscious after a body was found Monday along the Dallas Road trail in Victoria.
Police responded about 8:30 a.m. to the 600-block of Dallas Road, between Douglas and Government Streets, after receiving reports of a deceased man.
The cause of death is not believed to be suspicious, police said.
Our Place spokesperson Grant McKenzie said that it’s especially important to react if a person’s skin is grey or their lips are blue.
“It’s good to just ask someone: ‘Hey, are you OK?’ ” he said. “It just shows compassion — you just never know.”
He said you can also ask anyone in the area if they have naloxone, a drug that can reverse opioid overdoses.
“It can save a life if someone is overdosing but it doesn’t harm the individual if it’s not an overdose,” said McKenzie, adding it’s increasingly common to see people in a potentially dangerous state amid the toxic drug crisis.
“It’s unfortunate with the overdose pandemic that we’ve become a bit numb to it,” he said. “Looking out for our neighbours is the human thing to do.”
B.C. Emergency Health Services says naloxone can take three to five minutes to work, making it important to wait five minutes between doses.
The agency advises to start by shouting at a person suspected of having an overdose to see if they respond, and then pinching the webbing between the thumb and forefinger to determine if they respond to pain.
If the person doesn’t respond to sound or pain, it’s a medical emergency and 911 should be called, BCEHS said.
The next step is to check the person’s mouth for any obstructions like gum or a syringe cap and remove them, then tilt the head back to open the airway.
Ventilating the person by plugging their nose and breathing into their mouth could then be necessary.
If you do not have a mask, a piece of clothing can be used to cover the mouth.
