New venue for opioid meeting

The overwhelming response to a discussion on opioid addiction later this month has forced organizers to find a larger venue. Niagara Area Moms Ending Stigma, a group of parents who have lost children to opioid overdoses, were initially planning a meeting on Feb. 18 for a small St. Catharines venue to discuss issues concerning addiction.

But soon after word began to spread about the meeting, group co-founder Jennifer Johnston said it became clear they needed a larger building.

“My phone was blowing up,” she said, laughing and referring to the number of messages she was receiving.

While the group initially reserved a room at a building on Gale Crescent for the meeting, she said they realized it wasn’t large enough to accommodate the number of people expected.

They instead booked a lounge with room for 100 people at the Garden City Arena Complex, 8 Gale Cres., for the meeting, from 1-4 p.m.,

Feb. 18.

“We’re so passionate about this. We do this to honour our sons,” she said, referring to herself and co-founder Sandi Walker-Tantardini.

Street-Works outreach worker

Talia Storm is expected to speak during the meeting – one of several initiatives being developed to address the growing opioid addiction crisis in Niagara.