A Prince George library worker is ashamed of the people that she said disregarded a distressed woman on Patricia Boulevard yesterday (Wednesday) evening.
Amy Dhanjal, Communications Coordinator for the Prince George Public Library, tweeted last night after the incident, saying she watched dozens of vehicles and pedestrians ignore a woman sobbing and asking for help at a bus stop near the library.
I watched dozens of people drive & walk by a sobbing woman who was asking for help on Patricia Boulevard tonight. Her partner was overdosing nearby and needed an ambulance. I’m so grateful for the 3 other people who stopped to help. I’m ashamed for the rest of you. #cityofpg
— Amy Dhanjal (@msadhanjal) June 27, 2019
Dhanjal told MyPGNow that the woman was waving her arms and begging people to help her male friend who was suffering an overdose in the woods nearby. Dhanjal called the ambulance and said three other people attempted to assist as well.
The couple had tried to administer Naloxone but did not know if they’d used it properly.
“I mean I think it can be really scary and people can feel really helpless and not know what to do, but I would encourage people to push through that and if you see someone begging for help in the street, maybe take it seriously and ask them what they need,” said Dhanjal.
“I think people just looked at that woman and chose to think she wasn’t worth helping.”
She said by the time emergency crews were on scene, the man was coherent enough to tell the RCMP his name.
“I think when it comes to drug use there’s a lot of assumptions and judgments made and I don’t think this community or probably many others are quick to see people that are using drugs as people that are needing help,” said Dhanjal.
Prince George RCMP confirmed that emergency crews attended the scene and said the man was alive when he was taken to hospital.
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