It will be another sombre International Overdose Awareness Day in Nanaimo, as the city is in the midst of what will become its deadliest-ever year for drug-poisoning deaths.
Nanaimo’s International Overdose Awareness Day event will be held Thursday, Aug. 31, at Maffeo Sutton Park, according to a press release from the Community Action Initiative.
The purpose of the day is to raise awareness about overdose deaths, commit to trying to stop them, remember those who have died, and recognize the grief of families and friends who have lost loved ones to the crisis.
Drug-poisoning deaths are the No. 1 cause of death in B.C. for people aged 10 to 59, says the Community Action Initiative –more than homicides, suicides, accidents and natural disease combined.
In the first seven months of 2023, there have been more than 1,400 drug overdose deaths in B.C., which puts the province on pace for its deadliest year yet in the opioid crisis. In Nanaimo, 2023 has been a particularly grim year for fatal ODs, with 76 through the first seven months of the year. As a comparison, there were 77 overdose deaths in Nanaimo in all of 2022.
“This year, we mark International Overdose Awareness Day with a continued sense of grief, urgency, and hope that stigma and failed drug policy will become a thing of the past,” the release from the CAI noted.
This week’s event in Nanaimo will include food sharing, speakers, a ‘grief-loss-art therapy vigil’ and a ‘harm reduction resource village’ of exhibitor booths. The event starts at 11 a.m., with the speakers to start following an opening ceremony at noon.
READ ALSO: Overdose awareness walk in Crofton about healing, bringing community together