Shawn Richards began the month of March, 2020 clean and sober. The Orillia, Ont. man was finishing a three-month rehabiliation program for opioid dependency and was regularly attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings.
But by the end of the month, Richards was dead. His mother believes the COVID-19 pandemic is at least partly to blame. “When Shawn got out (of rehab) the NA meetings closed, they stopped five people gatherings so they were closed down,” said Richards’ mother, Johanne Logue. “Shawn’s gym closed down — which he attended faithfully — his work slowed down because it was only emergency repairs and his baseball was cancelled.” “So with that and Shawn being an addict, he started isolating and not being able to see family or friends.