Family shares grief after son dies of toxic drug poisoning on the street of small town in British Columbia

Families are asking for more resources to help prevent unnecessary deaths in the community from toxic drug addiction.

“Something needs to be done,” said Stormy Narcisse, who chose to speak out despite the difficulty of speaking out about what his family has been through in recent weeks.

“We need something to help our young people. Even if they say no, they need a place to go.”

Stormy Narcisse is living through a mother’s worst nightmare after she had to make the difficult decision to take her son Jordan Williams, 30, off life support earlier this month.

“The most difficult thing is that a mother has to make a choice,” said Narcisse, who had an emergency when she thought the stress could be a heart attack. I lost my mother before and my son’s godmother died just a few days before my son.

On the morning of November 8, 2022, Jordan Williams was found unresponsive in downtown Williams Lake. He received his CPR until paramedics arrived, was taken to a hospital, and was put on life support.

Williams was sent to Kamloops where he was further evaluated, with his family waiting by his side. Doctors didn’t believe his brain was working well, the family recalled.

He had a seizure when doctors stopped the sedatives.

Narcisse made the difficult choice to take his son off life support, and on November 16, he had the tubes removed.

Jordan Williams was pronounced dead on the morning of November 17th. His family said a toxicology report found methamphetamine and fentanyl in his system.

“Everybody needs to know where the pain is. It’s with the family,” Narcisse said of his desire to help educate people about the effects of death from toxic drugs.

He left behind two brothers, two sisters, and a large family and a large group of friends, whom he called his sisters and brothers.

“Jordan was a gregarious, kind-hearted, polite young man,” Narcisse said of his son.

But she said the drugs changed him.

He had a troubled past and had been to Smithers this summer, where he lived outside a tent with his partner for months, she believed.

She wanted Williams to attend therapy, but the long waiting list in the area made it difficult for him and his partner to attend together.

He and his partner had just returned from Smithers, stayed at Narcisse in Risk Creek, returned saying they wanted to go to the Gateway Stabilization Unit, and joined Lenner House, Williams Lake’s short-stay drug withdrawal program.

But when he returned, he was pale, thin, paranoid, and unable to sit still.

“Not him,” said Narcisse.

“They weren’t normal. They were up all night running around outside. They had nonsense talk. They left all the lights in the house on.” recalled Narcisse.

Just three days before his fatal overdose, Jordan Williams had been put on naloxone after a toxic drug addiction, his family said.

She wants less hurdles, less paperwork, and less waiting time for people to get the help they need.

“Jordan, he grew up in a good home. pointed out that there is

“He had a loving home,” she said.

The Jordan Williams service was held on November 25th at Tl’esqox Community Hall. On November 16, friends, family and community members also gathered at Spirit Square in Williams Lake, near where Williams was found, to drum, pray and sing by candlelight.

So far this year, paramedics have reported witnessing 143 drug poisonings at Lake Williams. Overall in 2021, they responded to a total of 117 cases. Quesnel paramedics reported that in 2021 he responded to 157 drug addiction cases. The Williams Lake RCMP reported that it has also responded to a “exponential increase” in medical calls this year.

BC Coroner’s Service has reported 10 deaths from toxic drugs in Lake Williams in 2021 and 15 deaths from January to September of 2022.

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ruth.lloyd@wltribune.com
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