Brad Reaume knows what can happen when you don't speak up.
He recalls while growing up, his older brother had gotten into drugs.
"I thought it was my job as a brother not to tell anyone," he said.
"I thought we were not supposed to talk, I was sticking up for him I thought. I was the younger brother."
But keeping his brother's secret is something he sadly regrets.
"That is not what you do, and his demise came in 2006 inevitably with an overdose death," said Reaume.
The North Bay Police Sergeant has been involved with The Community Drug Strategy for about a decade now. On Monday, the organization held a media conference to underline the importance of the #TimeToTalk initiative.
#TimeToTalk was launched in North Bay in 2021 and encourages everyone to talk openly about mental health challenges, bullying, abusive relationships, human trafficking, and at-risk substance use.
It aims to remove the stigma associated with talking about these issues with a parent or guardian, teacher, or police officer.
"That is what the TimeToTalk initiative is. It is to try to break down that stigma of reporting crime. Not necessarily crimes but reporting any type of behaviour in the very early onset of it before it manifests," said Reaume.
"We experience high school people that are going to go to Walmart to go steal something. It is usually planned among a group of friends If we do not interfere with that behaviour it will manifest, it will continue and it will progress.
"We have seen it so many times. If we can stop them; maybe a friend telling another parent or an uncle or an aunt. If we can stop them right there, then 15 years from now they might not be involved in human trafficking, they may not need significant resources to combat addiction, they may never be arrested or charged. If we can interfere with that at its very early onset."
Reaume has this one key message.
"You are never hurting anybody by trying to help," said Reaume.
"Every time we make a phone call ro we tell a parent or tell a teacher or a bus driver about things that a child is doing, the effort is only there to help not hurt them. Will they get a detention at a young age, maybe. Would they lose their electronics or cell phone, absolutely.
Reaume says in his 20 years of policing he has only heard of one experience where he has seen retaliation from someone coming forward with information.
"It exists in music, it exists within the Hell's Angels who are advertising the consequences for snitching on T-Shirts right now but it does not happen. It is only the stigma that has been created that prevents people from talking," he said.
And those who want to stay anonymous with their tips can do so too. In 2022 Near North Crimestoppers says it received 830 calls which assisted in 25 arrested while handing out $7000 in reward money.
Officials with the Drug Strategy insist it is not a sign of weakness to ask for help, it's a sign of strength.
