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At the end of June, Chloe Goodison was in the thick of a school term and running her organization, the NaloxHome Society.
Goodison had just finished some homework and was turning her attention to planning for a charity gala. The 23-year-old 天美mv天美 student said she was feeling a bit burnt out with her workload.
Then she hit refresh on her inbox, and an email popped up from the provincial government. It congratulated her for being a recipient of the province鈥檚 Medal of Good Citizenship this year.
Goodison was surprised.
鈥淚 genuinely had no clue that I had been nominated, let alone selected. And it was just the perfect pick-me-up,鈥 she said.
The B.C. Medal of Good Citizenship is one of the highest awards bestowed by the province, intended to recognize people who have contributed to the well-being of their communities.
Port Moody Coun. Samantha Agtarap nominated Goodison in 2024. While it wasn鈥檛 successful that year, they informed Coun. Agtarap that they would keep the information on file for 2025. The councillor told the Dispatch she was 鈥渞eally happy鈥 when she heard Goodison received it this year.
鈥淪he鈥檚 a deserving winner of this medal,鈥 Coun. Agtarap said. 鈥淚 think she鈥檚 filling a niche with NaloxHome that wasn鈥檛 served very well by existing programs.鈥
NaloxHome is an educational organization that teaches youth about stigma, harm reduction, signs of an overdose and how to deliver 鈥 a medication that can short-term reverse an opioid overdose effects. It鈥檚 a peer-to-peer model, which Goodison says allows for more trust.
鈥淎 lot of youth ask their burning questions about substance use that are not always ones they feel comfortable asking a teacher or a counsellor,鈥 she said.
When Coun. Agtarap first read through the nomination form 鈥 which included things like 鈥渟hining example for us all鈥 鈥 she thought of Goodison immediately. She started collecting references.
鈥淲e need to get better at recognizing people when they do good things, and especially younger people,鈥 Coun. Agtarap said.