In honour of International Overdose Awareness Day, Réseau ACCESS Network has issued a call to action for Sudburians, as well as a call to come together on August 31 to remember those who have died or suffered permanent injury due to drug overdose.
Observed annually, International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) seeks to create better understanding of overdose, reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths, and create change that reduces the harms associated with drug use.
A release from the community harm reduction group states that Sudbury’s Community Drug Strategy statistics reveal that 101 people in the Sudbury and Manitoulin Districts died from an opioid related overdose in 2021. This represents a local annualized mortality rate of 49.2 deaths per 100,000 population per year, significantly higher than the comparable rate in Ontario overall, 18.8 deaths per 100,000 population per year.
From January 2022 to June 2022, Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services have responded to 400 suspected opioid-related incidents.
“These reports speak to the high level of poisoning and toxicity in the unregulated drug supply,” said Kaela Pelland, director of peer engagement, at Réseau ACCESS Network,said in the release.
According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s most recent World Annual Drug Report, nearly half a million people around the world died as a result of drug use in 2019.
Early statistics and anecdotal evidence for the 2021 calendar year show that the situation is becoming ever-more critical, exacerbated in many areas by the pandemic decreasing the tolerance of people who use drugs and disrupting both services and the drug supply chain.
“Overdose can affect anybody and one of the messages of this day is that the people who overdose are our children, parents, siblings, friends, family, and community,” states a press release from the Réseau ACCESS Network. “They are loved, and they are missed.”
This year, Réseau ACCESS Network, in partnership with Sudbury Indie Cinema Co-op will host a screening of the film Kimmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy, which follows filmmaker Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers as she creates an intimate portrait of her community and the impacts of the substance use and overdose epidemic. Witness the change brought by community members with substance-use disorder, first responders and medical professionals as they strive for harm reduction in the Kainai First Nation.
Prior to the screening will be an opening ceremony, an overdose recognition and response training, and short discussion.
As well, Réseau ACCESS Network has issued a call to turn Sudbury purple on Aug. 31 and are hoping for the support of local organizations, building owners and businesses to add purple lighting or decoration in the name of remembrance and awareness.
In partnership with local community arts group, Myths and Mirrors, local art workshops are being facilitated throughout the month of August for those who have been affected by overdose. Those who wish to can submit their artwork for a chance to win a cash prize and have their artwork be turned into Réseau ACCESS Network’s next t-shirt.
“We encourage members of the community, including those with living and lived experience, to come to our events to stand in solidarity with the people from all walks of life who have been personally affected by overdose,” continues Pelland.
For more information, visit the Réseau ACCESS Network website, found here.
