MOUNT FOREST ‒ Community members didn't hesitate to lie on the wet sidewalks during Wellington's first Drug Poisoning Prevention Day Thursday, braving the rain to remember those who have lost their lives to the drug poisoning crisis.
Hosted annually by the Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy (WGDS) Peer Advisory Committee, Drug Poisoning Prevention Day is when community members are encouraged to come together and share in their grief while also calling for additional action from the government.
This year's event featured multiple resources as well as speakers from the WGDS and community members with lived experience.
“Today is a day that has a lot of weight to it, where we come together to remember people that we love and grieve as community members,” said Jean Hopkins, manager of WDGS. “I’m just so grateful to see all these faces here collectively as a community.”
A key aspect of the event was the die-in, which involved community members lying on the ground and being traced with a chalk outline, to signify those lost to the crisis. A white rose was then placed inside the outline, to show those lost aren't forgotten.
“The reason we do this is so as we leave today, we don’t stop remembering those who have been lost to this horrific issue,” said Elsa Mann, a member of the Mount Forest Family Health Team. “It’s also a very visual act so I think that speaks volumes.”
Cory Gillies, the team lead for the Guelph/Wellington Van, also read a speech on behalf of Karen Lomax, the manager of harm reduction services at ARCH- HIV/AIDS Resources & Community Health.
“If we were to quiet our voices and listen closely and really pay attention, the number of people who are not here due to opioid poisoning should be speaking volumes,” said Lomax. “Their losses should bring or demand attention.”
Remembering the first Drug Poisoning Awareness Day she attended in Guelph, Lomax spoke of the power of peers and how having access to those with lived experience can positively affect those actively using.
“(Peer support) is an education that can’t be taught or simulated in a student placement,” said Lomax. “It is a first-hand experience of living in the bowels of hell.”
Several organizations attending the event shared that their clients are finding themselves stuck in a vicious cycle of trying to balance their substance use with cost of living issues, finding affordable attainable housing, and maintaining their mental health.
“It’s easy to become hopeless for a solution and apathetic to the suffering of those in our lives and communities that use drugs,” said one Mount Forest resident, in a letter read during the event. “(But) people who use drugs are just like anybody else, they deserve to be treated with compassion respect, and dignity.”
Several community members, including Wellington North Coun. Penny Renken also shared they were pleasantly surprised to learn how many resources are available to their community.
Here are some of the resources mentioned that are available for those living in Wellington County:
Sanguen Health Centre- provides support to those experiencing high degrees of marginalization as a result of their substance use, mental health, homelessness, and chronic poverty.
Portage- recently opened a local outreach program to serve youth and families impacted by substance use and mental health
HERE24SEVEN- offers intake, assessment, and referrals for most local government-funded addictions and mental health services
Legal Clinic of Guelph Wellington County- provides free legal services for low-income residents
Community Resource Centre, Outreach and Support Services- has community-based information, resources, and support for low-income individuals in Centre Wellington, Wellington North, Minto, and Mapleton
Stonehenge Therapeutic Community- has a residential program that uses a modified therapeutic community treatment model
Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy- provides resources, access to peer support, and other services related to substance use
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