Deadly overdose crisis escalating among Alberta children and youth, child advocate warns

WARNING: This article contains details of self-harm.

Four months after child intervention workers withdrew services, 13-year-old Wren died from a drug overdose.

The Alberta girl, who loved to hike, camp and swim, had a traumatic upbringing marked by family violence and addiction.

She began harming herself and abusing drugs at a young age. At 12, she tried to overdose on over-the-counter medication. The following year, she died of drug toxicity. 

Wren’s death represents an alarming trend, Terri Pelton, Alberta’s child and youth advocate, cautions in a new report released Tuesday.

The report details the deaths of 18 young people in the six-month period between April 1