Community members came together on Aug. 31 to attend Wetaskiwin Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) and Moms Stop The Harm’s Second Annual International Overdose Awareness Day event.
International Overdose Awareness Day was started in 2001 by Sally J. Finn from The Salvation Army in St. Kilda, Melbourne. Since then, International Overdose Awareness Day has become the largest annual campaign to end overdose, remember without stigma those who have died from overdose and acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind. Communities around the world now hold their own vigils Aug. 31.
The theme of International Overdose Awareness Day 2023 was “Recognizing those people who go unseen” and is about acknowledging people in our communities who are affected by overdose but might go unseen in the crisis. Wetaskiwin FCSS Managing Director, Carley Dolan, stated, “Friends, family and loved ones, today we see you and we hear you.”
One of the speakers was Moms Stop The Harm representative Rhonda Watt. Watt has been doing outreach to address drug poisonings in the community and advocating for awareness. Her son, Eric, was 19 when he died of an overdose in 2017.
Moms Stop The Harm is a network of Canadian Families whose loved ones have died from drug-related harm or who have struggled with substance abuse. They advocate to end substance use-related stigma, harm and death.
Event speakers included Kevin Cunningham from the Alberta Alliance Who Educate and Advocate Responsibly and Terri Potts from The Open Doors. There were songs, a drum group, prayers and a candle lighting.
For more information please visit www.wetaskiwinfcss.com or www.momsstoptheharm.com.
