White Christmas trees honour people who have overdosed

A white Christmas tree at a library in Kamloops is being decorated with purple ornaments showing the faces and names of people in the community who have died from an overdose or other substance use causes.

Sherry Robinson and Sandra Tully each lost a son to drug use. The two women organized the Silent Night Memorial Tree, where ornaments hang to honour their kids and many others. 

"I feel really good here. I'm smiling right now and why I'm smiling is because of the number of people and families that have shown up to become involved and help us get this tree up and decorate it," said Robinson.

Both women are members of Moms Stop The Harm, a cross-Canada support network and advocacy group for families who have lost loved ones to drug-related harms or have substance use struggles. 

Some of the decorations on the tree have messages written on them, while others have pictures of people who have died.

Everyone from grandparents with grandchildren to front-line workers have come to add to the tree.

"They're honouring their moms and dads and their aunts and uncles," Robinson told Daybreak Kamloops​​​​​​' Jenifer Norwell.

"[Front-line workers], they're grieving too."

Robinson's son Tyler died from a fatal dose of fentanyl on Jan. 27, 2016 after leaving an abstinence based recovery centre and relapsing.

Tully's son, Ryan Pinneo, died at the age of 22 in 2016, from a fentanyl overdose.

"You know, Christmas is really difficult, and then grief on top of that is really, really difficult. So for a lot of people that are mourning a lost loved one, this is a really great way to recognize them," Tully said.

"It's very sad. I know most of these stories in depth, some I don't, but I would say the majority of them I do. And the saddest part is, I realize that we are losing a generation of people."

The memorial tree project was started last year by a mom in Powell River who is also a member of Moms Stop The Harm, and has spread across the country since then.

"Now we can say we have a small forest of white trees popping up through Canada," said Robinson, adding she hopes the white trees will help people openly acknowledge their grief. 

"A lot of families that are coming here that we've never met before [say they've] never been able to talk about this before, and it's the stigma, the shame of having someone who's died from an addiction," said Robinson.

"They tell their stories and they just feel so good, and they get a hug, and they make an ornament, and it kind of just breaks some freedom open for them to see beyond the stigma of addiction."