International Overdose Awareness Day, the world’s largest campaign to end overdose, is a time to remember and a time to act.
This coming Tuesday, Aug. 31st, an awareness event is being held at the Comox Valley Art Gallery’s outdoor plaza from 11:00am to 3:00pm.
The event will include speakers, performances, community resources, and a memorial. It’s being hosted by the Indigenous Women’s Sharing Society. Unbroken Chain, Comox Valley Community Action Team (CAT), and AVI.
Island Health medical health officer, Charmaine Enns, says Overdose Awareness Day is so important, as she notes the ongoing crisis has affected us all.
“This continues to be such a significant problem for so many people with such devastating consequences,” she said. “We can’t just keep putting band-aids on this. We need to all go in on this.”
In the first five months of 2021, the valley lost 14 people to toxic drug poisoning.
That already surpassed the total number of deaths in 2020.
