It’s an overcast Saturday morning in late March and Station 20 West, located on 20th Street West and Avenue L South, is buzzing with activity.

People have gathered to learn more about Naloxone, how to safely administer it to someone overdosing from opioids, and to talk about what can be done to help our community get through this difficult point in time.

Saskatoon’s drug and overdose crisis has been all over the news. A CBC story notes the Saskatoon Fire Department has responded to 935 overdose incidents or suspected opioid poisonings since the start of the year. That’s compared to 376 incidents in the same time period last year.

The Saskatoon Library closed two branches for a month over safety and overdose concerns, and Prairie Harm Reduction, which we have featured on the podcast several times, temporarily paused its operations in March to give its staff an opportunity to deal with the trauma they are seeing every day in our city.

I think the local media and the Hard Knox Talks podcast have done an exemplarily job of telling the stories amidst this crisis, and I struggled to find a way to get into the crisis through the podcast.

Then I learned about this gathering at Station 20 West and thought there might be some people who would be willing to share their stories. So my wife and I went on this Saturday morning and we met some pretty incredible people. We also learned how to administer Naloxone, which you will hear in this episode.

We met Colleen Christopherson-Cote, Board Chair for Station 20 West, University of Saskatchewan doctoral candidate, Maryellen Gibson, and Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Saskatchewan, Barbara Fornssler. My sincere thanks to them for sharing their passion for helping others and their community in this episode.

You can listen and follow YXE Underground wherever you find your favourite podcasts including Apple Podcasts, Spotify or on the website.

Please feel free to leave a 5-star review if you like you what you hear. These reviews help the podcast get into more podcast feeds so I really do appreciate the support.

Cheers...Eric

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis

Welcome to a special bonus episode of YXE Underground featuring a really wonderful person named Kyle Zurevinski. He is the Digital Media Program Assistant at the Remai Modern Museum and one of his largest responsibilities is curating and facilitating the film program at the museum. I have had the pleasure of working with Kyle on a few community projects in my role at Sherbrooke Community Centre over the past few years and he's just really great guy who loves his community and loves bringing people together.

Kyle brings people together by selecting thought-provoking, interesting and compelling films to the Remai, and we discuss how he chooses the movies in this episode. He also talks about the role movie theatres can play in forming community in Saskatoon and what it feels like to experience watching a film in a packed theatre.

I am so excited to be partnering with Kyle and the Remai Modern for a special community screening of the Pixar classic film, Wall-E, on April 17th. The show is free to the public (bring the entire family!) and will be screened at the Remai's theatre which you can find on the second floor. It starts at 7pm and I will be giving away free YXE Underground swag to everyone who comes! I love Wall-E and I think it connects in so many meaningful ways to the mission and values of the podcast. We will also be screening the short film that Saskatoon videographer, Molly Schikosky, and I made last summer to celebrate all things YXE Underground. I can't wait to see it on the big screen!

I hope to see you on April 17th and a big thank you to Kyle for not only being on the podcast but for making this community screening event happen. You are awesome, Kyle!!

Cheers...Eric

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis

Welcome to Valerie Veillard’s sitting room. There’s tea and snacks on the coffee table in front us and she’s flanked on her couch by Nathalie Baudais and Twyla Yobb. Between the three of them, they have decades of experience in sponsoring refugees and helping them settle in Saskatoon.

Valerie, Nathalie and Twyla are part of a sponsorship group working with the Mennonite Central Committee to bring a refugee family from Afghanistan to our city. The Jamili family has been waiting for months to learn if they will begin a new life in Saskatoon, while Valerie and the team have been working behind the scenes to ensure they will get to Canada safely. That means filling out forms, fostering relationships with organizations like the Saskatoon Open Door Society, and fundraising…lots and lots of fundraising.

The group has already sponsored the settlement of two adult children from the Jamili family, and it is hoping to soon reunite the family here in Saskatoon.

The world of refugee sponsorship is new to me, and I am grateful to Valerie, Nathalie and Twyla for walking me through the process of how it works, and why they commit so much of their time and energy to helping others in this way.

If you would like to help bring the Jamili family to Saskatoon, please click the link below.

DONATE

You can listen to YXE Underground wherever you find your favourite including Apple Podcast, Spotify, Goodpods or on yxeunderground.com

Please feel free to leave a 5-star review if you like what you hear. These positive reviews help the podcast show up in more podcast feeds so I really do appreciate the support.

You can follow the podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Simply search YXE Underground.

I want to thank Rob Rongve and his team at RBC Dominion Securities in North Battleford for supporting this episode. Rob has been an incredible supporter of the podcast since day one and I really appreciate his continued generosity and kindness. If you need someone to manage and invest your money, you need to meet Rob and his team at RBC Dominion Securities.

I also want to let you know of an exciting event I am working on with the Remai Modern. Please mark April 17th on your calendar as that’s when YXE Underground will be presenting a movie at the Remai Modern’s lovely theatre beginning at 7pm.

We will be showing the short film Molly Schikosky and I made last summer celebrating the podcast followed by the Pixar classic, Wall-E because it’s one of my favourite movies of all time and I think it connects nicely to YXE Underground in meaningful ways.

The Remai does this with other community organizations who select a movie for the public to watch for free and it’s really cool to partner with the gallery in this way. Plus, it’s free to attend!

So I would love to see you on the night of Thursday, April 17th, to celebrate the podcast and watch one of the best films of the past 20 years. Oh, and there will be free podcast swag if you come!

Thank you for continuing to support a local, independent podcast here in Saskatoon.

Cheers,

Eric

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis