At Live4 Wellness, our mission goes beyond nourishing bodies—we are committed to restoring broken pieces of our communities. That’s why we are committed to founding the Live4 Healing Foundation: a grassroots initiative dedicated to supporting trauma-informed, recovery and addiction treatment programs that uplift people on their path toward recovery.
The Addiction Crisis in Canada: A Growing Emergency
Addiction is not a distant issue—it’s a rapidly escalating crisis. Recent data paints a sobering portrait:
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Between 2016 and mid-2024, more than 52,500 opioid-related deaths were recorded in Canada, including over 48,000 hospitalizations, nearly 199,000 emergency department visits, and about 245,000 EMS responses to suspected overdoses. In 2024, 74% of opioid deaths involved fentanyl.
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In 2016, there were 2,861 opioid-related deaths nationwide. By 2022, Canada’s per-capita rate had more than doubled, rising to approximately 20.3 deaths per 100,000 people, with 1,904 deaths already reported in the first quarter of 2023.
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Addiction-related mortality isn’t just in statistics—it’s tearing at the fabric of Indigenous communities. In British Columbia, opioid mortality rates among Indigenous people remain five times higher than among others. My own community is presently experiencing a rapid decline in population on account of substance use.
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Beyond opioids, polysubstance use—when people consume multiple drugs either simultaneously or sequentially—now accounts for a dramatic rise in overdose risks, with the average person using between 2.6 and 4 substances.
These numbers aren’t abstract—they represent neighbors, relatives, and countless individuals in communities like ours who are struggling every day.
Service Providers Are at Capacity—Strained, Underfunded, and Facing Breakdowns
Across Canada, addiction support services are stretched dangerously thin just when demand is skyrocketing. Many existing programs are literally bursting at the seams:
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Long waitlists and limited services are now the norm. Clients report delayed or denied access to critical treatment options—especially in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities—due to shortages in capacity and funding.
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Funding gaps persist even amid federal investments. Although provinces have received billions earmarked for mental health and substance use, most have directed just 16 % of those federal funds toward these services. Some regions, including BC, Manitoba, and PEI, allocated nearly zero.
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Staff shortages are crippling providers. The pandemic exacerbated an already urgent shortage in behavioural health professionals. Treatment centres report they are forced to place clients on waiting lists—or shut down—because they lack qualified therapists and frontline staff.
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Culturally rooted, community-led programs, which are often more effective in Indigenous and rural areas, are critically under-supported. These initiatives are described as “arguably the best” yet remain chronically underfunded - making their work nearly impossible to sustain.
Why Live4 Healing Foundation Matters
In the face of this escalating crisis, there’s a desperate need for care models that go beyond symptom management — and also help ease the burden on existing services that are at capacity, underfunded, and understaffed.
The Live4 Healing Foundation is committed to filling critical gaps by working with communities, not apart from them. Our focus is on creating scalable, trauma-informed, and community-led solutions that relieve pressure from overloaded systems and expand access to care where it’s needed most.
Here’s how we plan on making an impact:
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Building Culturally Grounded Healing Circles
We create safe, restorative spaces where Indigenous healing traditions meet trauma-informed practices. These circles support people in reconnecting to identity, community, and purpose — areas that are often overlooked in clinical recovery settings. -
Supporting Peer-Led Outreach
Those with lived experience are often the most trusted guides. By empowering peer leaders, we bridge the trust gap and reduce strain on frontline organizations who are stretched thin but deeply committed. -
Funding Mental Health Access & Detox Support
We help cover the costs of therapy, detox, and recovery programming for individuals who would otherwise fall through the cracks. This directly supports and relieves overloaded care providers who are unable to meet rising demand due to funding and staffing limitations. -
Partnering with Community Organizations
We don’t reinvent the wheel — we strengthen it. By collaborating with grassroots efforts across northern communities, the Province of BC, and First Nations organizations, we scale impact, amplify what's already working, and bring sustainability to programs on the brink.
Join Us in Making a Real Difference
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Support Recovery Programs: Every purchase of the Live4 Wellness products will support the growth of Live4 Wellness which will them fund healing circles, peer outreach, and accessibility grants once Live4 Wellness has grown to a point that it reached profitability.
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Community Outreach: If you feel compelled, volunteer or donate supplies to events in local First Nations, especially around traditional lands.
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Spread Awareness: Healing begins with conversation. By sharing stories of recovery and lived experience, we help break stigma, build empathy, and open doors for others to seek support. You can also support this movement by informing friends and family about Live4 Wellness where every purchase of our products helps fund the birth of the Live4 Healing Foundation, supporting trauma-informed care to communities in need.
Because Communities Deserve Healing
The overdose crisis has demanded urgent action: with well over 50,000 Canadians lost to opioid toxicity since 2016, addiction is a public health emergency. But numbers alone can’t measure the resilience of communities ready to heal.
That’s the vision of the Live4 Healing Foundation—to reclaim wellness, dignity, and belonging for those impacted by addiction and trauma. To reclaim our families and communities.
💛 Nourish yourself. Empower others. Live4 more.
