Minister of Agriculture’s stepson dies of accidental overdose

The stepson of B.C.’s Minister of Agriculture and Saanich South MLA, Lana Popham, passed away early last week of an accidental overdose after struggling with mental health problems and addiction.

His name was Dan Sealey, and he was 23-years-old.

“It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our very own Dan Sealey…” said Popham on Facebook.

“Those who were lucky enough to know him will remember the funny, caring, smart, talented and special person that he was[,] but may not know about the struggles he faced over the past few years with mental health and addiction.”

In honour of Dan’s passing, a fund was created to support people suffering from mental health or addiction challenges.

At the time of publication, the fund had raised over $9,200 USD.

“He was taken from us far too soon by accidental overdose before he got to fulfill his dream of being a Physics teacher.”

“In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to a fundraiser posted on Dan’s Facebook page in an effort to help others who are struggling.”

On November 15th, B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth (RCY) released a report covering the sharp increase in youth substance harm and calling for supervised youth consumption sites.

“In 2017, RCY received 154 substance related critical injury reports, which was nearly double the 78 reports received the previous year,” says the representative.

“The ministries of Mental Health and Addictions, Health, and Children and Family Development will review the report’s recommendations carefully and work with the RCY as we continue to escalate our response to the overdose crisis and improve mental health and addictions care for all youth in our province,” said Judy Darcy, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, in a press release responding to the RCY report.

You can donate to Dan’s fund here.