Posted at 5:00 a.m.
She campaigned for Greenpeace and Amnesty International. She had gone to lend a hand to the victims of Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac during the floods of 2019. She was studying law and international development with the objective of defending the rights of Indigenous peoples.
“Sara-Jane was a girl who defended the widow and the orphan, the dogs and the cats, the trees and the rivers”, jokes her mother, Isabelle Fortier.
Sara-Jane Béliveau died of an overdose at age 24. But his desire to change the world is not dead. It is now his mother who carries him. Its mission: to change perceptions and public policies surrounding drugs.
“She passed the torch on to me. It is she who guides me,” says M.me Fortier. To illustrate this continuity, she shows off the fox tattoo she wears on her forearm. It was the one Sara-Jane wanted to make before she died.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Isabelle Fortier got a fox tattoo, the one Sara-Jane wanted to get before she died.
Mme Fortier describes his daughter as a person deeply imbued with social justice. A girl who, from a young age, is in all the fights.
At school, although she is reserved, she stands up for the only black girl in her group when she experiences racism. In high school, she confronts a teacher in the middle of the class who makes dubious jokes about gays.
But life isn’t always easy for Sara-Jane. She suffers from an anxiety disorder and borderline personality disorder. She is very demanding of herself, has emotions on edge, has eco-anxiety.
“Finding your place in life was difficult,” says her mother. Simply fitting into the frame wasn’t quite what she liked. She was a marginal, my daughter! »
Drugs as self-medication
Drugs enter her life when she is 13 years old. First cannabis and amphetamines. Then, a few years later, cocaine and heroin.
It surely started for the fun, but I think it quickly became self-medication. There was a discomfort related to his borderline personality disorder.
Isabelle Fortier, mother of Sara-Jane Béliveau
She insists on one thing: despite her consumption, her daughter is then functional. She is doing a double bachelor’s degree at the University of Ottawa, is involved in a thousand and one causes, and has a head full of projects.
The last months of his life were nevertheless difficult. Sara-Jane is going through a breakup and says she is tired. On Mother’s Day, she calls her mother and confides in her that she is juggling the idea of taking a leave session to go abroad with the Red Cross. Mme Fortier encouraged him in his project.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Isabelle Fortier wants to change perceptions and public policies surrounding drugs.
“It was a good and a nice discussion,” recalls the latter.
Five days later, it’s a shock. Sara-Jane, who had told her relatives that she had stopped using depressants like heroin, was found dead in her room at the University of Ottawa.
She used “purple heroin”, a mixture of heroin and fentanyl. Sertraline, a drug Sara-Jane was taking for her borderline personality disorder, also allegedly played a role in her death.
In her apartment in Verdun, Isabelle Fortier now has a small “temple” in honor of her daughter. On a table, she placed a photo of Sara-Jane as well as her favorite sweater, one of her scarves and the clarinet she played.
The pain of mourning, Mme Fortier turned it into action. To understand what her daughter was going through, she took a certificate in drug addiction at the University of Montreal. Its library houses titles such as Addiction Mefrom herenot, The toxicomanie Where Overdose.
Mme Fortier soon became involved with Moms Stop the Harm, a network of Canadian families affected by overdoses. She sits on the board of Dopamine, an organization that supports drug users. She gives conferences and multiplies interviews in the media.
“I made a 180 degrees compared to my values, she says. I realized that abstinence is not the only answer. At the time, I wanted to bring Sara-Jane towards that. »
She had even made an appointment for her daughter in an addiction rehabilitation center. But at the very last minute, Sara-Jane had refused to go. “She wasn’t ready,” notes Isabelle Fortier.
Today, M.me Fortier speaks from all forums about de-stigmatization, harm reduction, decriminalization of drugs, safe supply. If Sara-Jane hadn’t used drugs alone, in secret, she might be alive today. Same thing if she had had access to quality drugs instead of contaminated substances.
“I repeat it everywhere: it can happen to anyone,” she said. It does not discriminate on your social class, your level of education, the color of your skin, your sexual orientation or your job. »