Nelson CARES Society

08/31/2026

08/31/2026

Every August 31, International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) brings a global community together to take action on overdose.

08/30/2026

Subscribing is easy – simply text JOIN to 253787.
Toxic drug and health alerts is a free, real-time text messaging service for anyone to receive toxic drug alerts or share information about toxic drugs in their community. This service is anonymous. People can also get other information by text message, like where to find naloxone or how to get drugs tested.
Text notifications are now sent to subscribers who want timely information about illicit substances and increases in toxic drug poisonings in their region.
People living in the Fraser Health, Interior Health, Island Health, Northern Health, and Vancouver Coastal Health regions can sign up to receive text message alerts about toxic drugs in their community. The service is anonymous.
To sign up text the word JOIN to 253787 (ALERTS). When you sign up you’ll be asked which health region you want to get alerts for. You can choose more than one region or sign up for the whole province.
The Toxic Drug and Health Alerts system is also a platform for people to anonymously submit information such as date and location of drug overdose, a physical description of the drug and packaging, where the substance was purchased, and what it is believed to be. Community members—including those who use substances—are encouraged to submit information by texting OD to 253787. Once received, the information is reviewed by harm reduction teams and used in conjunction with other sources to send text message alerts to subscribers. People who use drugs, community partners, emergency departments, first responders, drug user groups, and the BC Coroners Service all help inform alerts.

08/29/2026

Sun Path Prayer T-Shirts
Wear the Path of Truth and Reconciliation
Honour survivors, remember the children who never returned home, and commit to truth and reconciliation.
All profits from shirt sales will be donated to COINS (Circle of Indigenous Nations Society), an Indigenous-led organization supporting Indigenous people, families, and communities throughout the West Kootenay region.
Every shirt purchased helps strengthen Indigenous leadership, community, and reconciliation.
Purchase your shirt here: https://nelson-cares-society.square.site

08/28/2026

There are lots of lists online for what to pack in your Bug Out Bag, so start there and then customize it to how you live and what you need. It is also a good idea to print a list of items you use everyday that you will want to and to the bag in the event of having to use it. Stay safe and plan ahead.

08/26/2026

About the Sun Path Prayer t-Shirt artists: Johnny Mukwa is a Metis artist of Anishinaabe descent from Thunder Bay, Ontario, whose Woodland-style paintings pulse with layered symbolism and vivid color. Before committing to Woodland art, he worked in abstract stone sculpture—carving flowing forms that explored negative space—and Pointillism, where countless dots taught him patience and the power of accumulation; both practices surface in his current work through carved-like outlines and densely patterned fields.

In February 2025 he began an apprenticeship with renowned Woodland painter Mark Anthony Jacobson, deepening his use of bold black contours, saturated palettes, and the visual language of his heritage: animals rendered as spirit messengers, interconnected florals that map kinship and migration, and birchbark-inspired textures. Those motifs aren’t merely decorative—they carry teachings from Anishinaabe stories and from Mukwa’s own life in Northern Ontario.

That precision traces back to 18 years as a civil-engineering lab technician, where exact measurement met material testing. He now brings that same rigor to panel preparation,

pigment choice, and compositional balance, treating each painting as both ceremony and blueprint.

Since embracing Woodland art, Mukwa has held several well-received shows across the Kootenays, with collectors drawn to the kinetic energy of his pieces: electric blues and hot ochres locked in rhythmic black lines, congestion and clarity held in tension. Residing in Nelson, BC, he continues to develop a body of work that honors tradition while translating his technical and multicultural experience into a distinct, contemporary Woodland voice.
https://nelsoncares.ca/portfolio-items/sun-path-prayer-t-shirts-wear-the-path-of-truth-and-reconciliation/

08/25/2026

To prevent harm from poor air quality caused by wildfire smoke, staff will reduce risk for persons served by supporting them to:

a. Monitor local air quality and reduce exposure to poor, unhealthy, or hazardous air. i. Limit outdoor activities. ii. Seek indoor spaces with filtered air (e.g., libraries, shopping malls, community centers). iii. Keep windows and doors closed.

b. Stay hydrated by drinking water.

c. Avoid activities that increase indoor and outdoor air pollution (e.g., frying foods, sweeping, using gas-powered appliances).

d. Use portable air purifiers if available, running them continuously with doors and windows closed.

e. Understand the potential health risks of wildfire smoke exposure, how to self-assess for symptoms, and when to talk to a health care provider or seek urgent medical attention.

f. Understand whether they are part of a group with higher risk of adverse health effects due to smoke exposure, including people with existing health conditions, people aged 65 and older, infants and children, and pregnant people.

g. If the person served has chronic health conditions, staff will support them to work with their healthcare provider to create a management plan for smoky conditions.

08/24/2026

Have a safe and joyfilled PRIDE Nelson!! Happy 30 years for PRIDE right here in our little piece of paradice.