Sudbury's white crosses multiply as community members mark International Overdose Awareness Day

Each year on Aug. 31, communities across the globe gather to observe International Overdose Awareness day and Sudbury, Ont., is no exception. 

The Community Drug Strategy of Sudbury says 101 people died of an opioid overdose in Sudbury/Manitoulin districts in 2021, alone.

Between January and June of this year, Greater Sudbury Paramedic Services said they have responded to 400 suspected opioid-related incidents.  

Denise Sandul is the mother of Myles Keaney. He was 22 years old when he died two years ago of an opioid overdose.

To keep his memory alive, Sandul erected a wooden cross at the spot her son died.

We're losing a generation of young men and women.— Denise Sandul

In January 2021, the CBC reported 150 crosses, which at the time, surrounded Myles Keaney's cross, each one representing a life lost to the opioid crisis in northern Ontario. 

Now, that number has swelled to 244. 

"I did not expect that there would be change overnight," she said. 

"I certainly did not anticipate having 244 crosses. I simply thought if we had 10 or 15 some people would take notice, our community would take notice that our loved ones are dying."

Sandul said she tries to visit the site twice a week. As a grieving mother and community member she said that some days are easier than others.

"There's now 244 crosses, which means 244 people in our community that have passed away to poisonous toxic drugs are not forgotten," she said.

"[But] other days like today — my heart hurts." 

Sandul said while Sudbury has made some progress, "we're losing a generation of young men and women."

According to recent figures published by Ontario's Office of the Chief Coroner the public health crisis is urgent across the province but nowhere more than northern Ontario. 

Public Health Sudbury and Districts had an opioid death rate of 52.9 per 100,000 people from April 2021 to March 2022, according to the recent data. 

In Ontario, the region's opioid death rate was second only to Thunder Bay, which had an opioid death rate of 82.1 per 100,000 people in the same period. 

Réseau Access Network will operate a supervised consumption site in Sudbury, which will have medical professionals on site to help prevent overdoses and respond quickly if someone experiences one. Following some delays, the organization said the site is due to open in early September.

Downtown Sudbury's Indie Cinema Co-op will be hosting Réseau Access Network at 5:30 PM on Aug. 31 to offer overdose awareness, recognition, response, and naloxone training. 

The cinema will also show a film, Kimmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers. The film catalogues the effects of substance use and the overdose epidemic, as well as, the change brought on by local harm reduction workers and medical professionals in Kainai First Nation in southern Alberta.  

More information for the event can be found on Réseau Access Network's Facebook page.