Team Lee - Helping Others

08/27/2026

Team Lee - Helping Others is gifting this purple decorated tree for Overdose Awareness. This reality touches so many of us and we want to honor every life lost while supporting the families and friends left behind.

This tree is to spark honest conversations, break the stigma and bring hope to those on the path to healing and recovery.

We want to gift this to a special Edmonton space where it can stand as a gentle reminder that no one is alone, and that there is always a path forward to inspire change and renew hope.

This tree is also meant to raise awareness. According to the Alberta Substance Use Surveillance System, Edmonton recently recorded a heartbreaking high of 770 fatal drug poisonings in a single year. Our community currently responds to a higher volume of opioid emergencies than anywhere else in the province, largely due to an unpredictable toxic supply and substances.

Ideally, we would love to find a space where community can also drop off food and winter items for the unhoused.

If you know a shelter, recovery center, or community hub that would welcome this gift, please comment or message us to let us know:

- Where you envision it standing.
- How it can be used to lift people up, educate, and collect winter donations.
- What makes that specific space a beautiful place to share this message of hope.

06/28/2026

I hope this case helps establish case law that supports the charges in these circumstances.

That said, we shouldn't have to rely on stretching existing sections of the Criminal Code to fit situations like this. The law needs to evolve alongside the drug crisis we are in. We need to amend the Criminal Code or create specific charges that address the criminal responsibility of those who traffic drugs that cause death.

Law enforcement needs legislation to charge and convict rather than trying to make the existing wording fit.

04/30/2026

“15 people died in Manitoba in past 2 weeks 💔”

15 people died in Manitoba in past 2 weeks 💔

03/18/2026

Full story in comments

03/06/2026

Well said…

“Chris Newton deserved better.
The man in the alley tonight deserves better.
Every person living with severe mental illness and homelessness deserves better.

If compassion started to outweigh judgment, maybe fewer families would have to live through the nightmare Christine just did.

Because every person sleeping on the street tonight is someone’s child. Rest easy, Chris. “

A couple days ago, a mother learned the kind of news no parent should ever have to hear. The remains found outside of Nelson ten months ago were confirmed to be her son, Chris Newton, who had been missing for two years.

Chris was 34.

For two years his mother, Christine, lived in the unbearable space between hope and despair. Anyone who has ever loved someone who is missing knows that “not knowing” can slowly destroy you. But knowing carries its own kind of finality.

Chris was unhoused.
He lived with schizophrenia.
Like so many struggling with severe mental illness, he turned to substances to try to quiet a mind that would not give him peace.

And his story ended in tragedy.

Right now, as I write this, there is a man with schizophrenia sleeping in the alley behind my work. I’m doing what I can with the limited resources I have — blankets, cushions, a bit of food, conversation — trying to help him stay alive through the night.

But let’s be honest.

This is not a solution.

A community should not rely on random acts of kindness from people passing by to keep someone with severe mental illness alive. We should have systems. We should have support. We should have places for people to go when their minds are fighting against them.

Instead, too often what we see is anger.

People complaining about the homeless from the comfort of their couches.
People talking about “tax dollars.”
People treating human beings like problems instead of people.

Behind every person sleeping outside is a story. A family. A mother like Christine who once held that child in her arms and never imagined their life would end this way.

Schizophrenia is not a moral failure.
Addiction is not a character flaw.
Homelessness is not a lifestyle choice most people wake up and decide to pursue.

It is what happens when trauma, illness, poverty, and a lack of support collide.

And as a society, we are not doing enough.

Chris Newton deserved better.
The man in the alley tonight deserves better.
Every person living with severe mental illness and homelessness deserves better.

If compassion started to outweigh judgment, maybe fewer families would have to live through the nightmare Christine just did.

Because every person sleeping on the street tonight is someone’s child. Rest easy, Chris. 🌺

05/08/2025

https://globalnews.ca/news/11168240/inquest-wraps-up-in-winnipeg-into-the-2021-overdose-death-of-lee-earnshaw/amp/

An inquest has wrapped up into the overdose death of Lee Earnshaw in 2021 in Winnipeg. His family members hope to prevent similar deaths.

05/04/2025

I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Marion Willis for her unwavering advocacy, compassion, and leadership. Her assistance and determination in pushing for the inquest into my brother Lee’s death meant more than words can express. She gave voice to our grief and stood with us in the fight for change.

Marion and the St. Boniface Street Links team are not only saving lives, they are building a better, more compassionate model of care. The work they do each day, meeting people where they are, offering dignity, shelter, healing, and hope, deserves recognition and support from all of us.

You can learn more and support their work at:
www.stbonifacestreetlinks.com

Ways to Help:

Make a donation through their website

Drop off urgent items like new underwear, socks, bottled water, toiletries, and laundry supplies at 311 Provencher Blvd. or 604 St. Mary’s Rd., in Winnipeg, MB.

Share this with others- awareness saves lives

Thank you Marion, for leading with courage and heart. Winnipeg is better because of you.

Welcome to St. Boniface Street Links In the past, the citizens of St. Boniface could always rely on the Christian Church and it’s missionaries to serve the poor and the marginalized. But, as the religious Orders aged and their facilities were repurposed into seniors’ homes and for other uses...

05/03/2025

Today marks the end of the inquest and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from me. When Lee passed, I made a promise to myself and his spirit that the barriers he spoke about would be heard.

After two emotional weeks, the inquest went beyond what I hoped. It was unanimously recognized that major change is needed. As one lawyer said, there were “multiple single points of failure”.

The recommendations put forth by the lawyers to the judge were powerful and have the potential to bring about real change - this included the recommendation that the province declare a public health emergency and an urgent need to address how we respond to the opioid crisis in Manitoba. There will be changes that will save lives, prevent future tragedies and provide much needed support to those affected by this crisis.

This photo was taken under the justice sculpture outside the Manitoba courthouse. Though it’s massive, one person can move it. That’s Lee. His voice has been heard.