MOUNT FOREST – On Aug. 24 from noon to 1pm, partner organizations of the Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy will be hosting an event to honour the people in Wellington County and throughout Canada whose lives have been lost to drug poisoning.
The event will be held in Mount Forest with people gathering on King Street at the corner of Main Street.
Activities at the event will include: sharing words and music to express grief and loss, a minute of silence, information about local services supporting people impacted by substances, and pizza is also available.
The event will also include a “die-in,” which lead of the Rural Wellington Community Team Elsa Mann describes as an activity that makes drug poisoning-related deaths more real to people.
“In order to make it real for people that people are dying from this phenomenon, we actually have people lie down on the ground,” she began. “We [then] create a chalk drawing around them and place a flower in the middle of that outline.”
“It [stays there] for the remainder of the day for people to see,” Mann added.
Last year was the first time this event occurred in Mount Forest, and about 50 people came out to that event according to Mann.
“We hope to have that good or better of a turnout this year as well,” she stated. “Some people [last year] just went downtown and happened upon it and then stayed.”
Mann said that many participants last year were unaware of how many people are affected by drug poisoning per year, let alone in Wellington County.
Since 2016, officials state that more than 35,000 people have died from opioid-related deaths in Canada. In 2022, an average of 8 people per day died from accidental opioid-related deaths in Ontario. In Guelph by the end of July 2023, there was at least 13 accidental opioid-related deaths.
“This is not just something that happens in the city or happens in urban centers. This is happening everywhere and in our rural communities as well,” Mann said.
“We see overdoses and drug poisonings here as well. But it’s very hidden, people are not talking about it in general circles.”
The Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy stated in a media release that fentanyl from the unregulated drug market continues to be the drug most associated with accidental drug poisonings. Alternatives to the unregulated market are usually not accessible to the majority of Canadians who are addicted to opioids.
Officials said that Mount Forest is an exception to this rule. The Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinic, located at 229 Main St. South, is funded by Health Canada to offer “safer supply” which is a harm reduction program that may help save lives.
“What we’re seeing in some communities is that there’s still a lot of stigma and pushback on some of those policies and programs,” Mann explained.
Based on evidence, Mann said that from a healthcare perspective those services and policies do change lives.
“For some reason, because we’re talking about substances where this is happening, there’s a real reluctance to adopt some of these things,” she said.
Everyone in the county is invited to attend the event for a time to reflect on shared grief while also expressing support for needed policy changes that will help put an end to accident and unwanted drug poisonings.
If you are unable to make the event, there is another one held in Guelph on Aug. 31 at City Hall from 11:30 to 11:50am to advocate that the municipal government support drug policy change to prevent further deaths.
From noon to 1pm the same day there will be the remembrance event, similar to the one in Mount Forest, at the Royal Bank Plaza in downtown Guelph.
For more information or if you have any questions, please contact: emann@mountforestfht.com or ljones@stonehengetc.com. You may also visit: wgdrugstrategy.ca.
