Kelowna council and officials from Interior Health spoke for over an hour about the city's problem with drug overdoses.
Numbers from IH show that Kelowna is expected to see 90 overdose deaths this year, which is almost double the total from 2016.
Councillor Gail Given spoke about the one of the common misconceptions she's heard.
"There is the false perception of our community that this is a homeless problem. And in fact, it could potentially be a wealthy problem, not a homeless problem," she said.
"From the general perspective, what gains the media attention and the really good flash on the news is the homeless person with a needle in their arm. But I don't believe that's who's dying."
Medical Health Officer Dr. Silvina Mema responded that while it's true many homeless people are overdose victims, the problem is one that's affecting all kinds of people.
Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Trevor Corneil echoed that statement, and says the health authority needs help in spreading that message.
"I think I've given hundreds of talks, I mean I can't tell you the number of hours I've done, saying the same thing over and over again. And I think that's part of what I'm looking for," he said.
"It can't just be Silvina (Dr. Mema) and I saying (that) it's affecting everybody. I've been saying the same things until I'm blue in the face. I need people that are not in health to be talking about this."
Councillor Ryan Donn says these deaths are impacting people from all walks of life, and that he hopes more can approach the issue with a dose of empathy.
"It feels like there's some empathy, but then I have other conversations and there's no empathy in that conversation," he said.
"I've actually heard the lines 'they're making that choice, that 1% (of drug users), and that's part of their choice. And if this is the result...' That wasn't the choice they're making. They weren't making that life or death choice. They were choosing to use an illegal drug is what they were doing, they weren't choosing to die."
The most common victims are men between the ages of 30 and 49, and the 60 deaths through the first eight months of this year have already surpassed last year's total of 47.
And while Vancouver's downtown east side is often people's first thought of an overdose, IH says the death rate from those drugs is actually higher right here in Kelowna, at more than 30 deaths for every 100,000 people.
IH says the cause of more than 90% of those deaths is fentanyl.