Loved ones of overdose victims ‘lift each other up’ at park vigil
Victoria Park filled with the loved ones of people who died from drug overdoses, many dressed in ceremonial purple, Saturday night to watch the High Level Bridge light up for International Overdose Awareness Day.
The event, organized by the Moms Stop the Harm (MSTH) Healing Hearts support group, got underway with live music and speeches from members of the support group, the Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs and Coun. Scott Mckeen, who made the official declaration to mark the day’s official status in the city. The speeches were followed by a candlelit vigil and the lighting of the High Level Bridge in purple in honour of overdose awareness.
“At a time like this there is nobody pointing fingers at you, you’re surrounded by people who understand. We all share this grief, it’s something we live with every day, but this one time of year when we come together we can lift each other up,” said Petra Schulz, co-founding director of MSTH.
This year’s event comes in the wake of the provincial government announcing it will conduct a social and economic review of safe consumption sites in the province.
“Even people who don’t use safe consumption sites, for them they are important because they send a message: you matter,” said Schulz. “The message this government is sending to people who use drugs is, ‘We care more about property values and the businesses in the neighbourhood than your welfare.’ ”
The latest numbers from Alberta Health show the province recently experienced its first decrease in opioid overdose deaths since the national crisis began. There were 137 deaths in the first quarter of 2019 compared to 160 in the final quarter of 2018. A recent report by the Alberta Community Council on HIV showed safe consumption sites have had a 100-per-cent success rate when reversing opioid overdoses, amounting to 4,300 saves since November 2017.
“Another reporter asked me would it be any different if 2015 was like 2019 and I didn’t have an answer to that,” said Faye Gray, who lost her daughter Lindsay to an overdose four years ago, when asked if she thought progress was being made. “Four thousand lives saved with the safe consumption sites. I wish we could save a lot more than that. Those sites are really important.”
Saturday’s event saw family members hang photos of loved ones throughout the park and wear their photos on their shirts. The event also featured training on the proper use of naloxone, a drug widely distributed in the province that helps stop the effects of an overdose.
Earlier in the day Heather Sweet, NDP critic for mental health and addictions, called for Jason Luan, UCP associate minister of mental health and addictions, to be fired after he said he heard from some families affected by the opioid crisis that kids were encouraged to take more risks using drugs because they have easy access to naloxone.
“This associate minister has demonstrated that he has a strong bias against those with mental health and addiction issues,” said Sweet. “The issue that we have here is that this associate minister talks about naloxone kits as enabling people that use drugs. They save lives.”
Luan took to Twitter Saturday to clarify that he believes naloxone saves lives and the government supports their availability.