A First Nations chief says he hopes the personal stories of a heavy weight boxer and a professional wrestler can help knock out his community’s drug problems.
Ian Hodgkinson, also known as Vampiro, and George Chuvalo plan to attend the Healing Journey at Gull Bay First Nation on May 13 and 14. The two-day event aims to address the drug problem within the community.
Gull Bay First Nations chief Wilfred King said he believes it is important to get the message across to the community members that prescription drug abuse is a big problem.
He said he hopes Hodgkinson and Chuvalo’s personal stories would reach younger audiences.
"We are trying to get the young people to understand that drugs and drug abuse is a serious issue," King said. "It’s important that the youth know if you abuse drugs you can get into some serious trouble."
After spending eight years as chief, King said he sees drug abuse everyday and wanted to do something to stop it.
He said drugs harm not just the individual using them, but the entire community.
"I can honestly say our First Nation community never had a drug problem 10 years ago," he said. "I think it is a recent phenomena because they are so readily available that it has become an epidemic in our community."
