Thoughts on International Overdose Awareness Day 2023

Beauty found at the edges: a portrait of community support

March 1, 2023

I’d sent a text saying “Hello friends, I’m putting out a call for flowers. I went to public school with Kory, the young man who died in downtown Cobourg this week, and though I hadn’t seen him in recent years, I feel the loss of him on a community level, as I imagine you do, too. Some of Kory’s people are gathering tonight in vigil at the bank where he died, and I’m gathering flowers from those of us who have gardens to share with this grieving community. Do you have some blooms in your garden that you’d be willing to share?”

Christian – Grieving the whole person

April 23, 2023

Christian talks about how we choose remember people when there has been a loss to drug poisoning

Nicole – Stigma Surrounding Drug Use

March 25, 2023

Nicole discusses how the stigma around drug use has an impact on how people feel able to grieve when those in their community are lost.

Kristal – Attending Memorials as a Support Worker

April 23, 2023

Kristal discusses the importance of finding ways to honour people that have been lost and how they have impacted you. She speaks to how she often chooses not to attend public memorials for those she has lost as a support worker as they are often very overwhelming. Instead, she has her own personal rituals or ways of honouring those she has lost personally including opening a window. She discusses how this practice was used when she worked in palliative care.

Christian – COVID amplified the inequities in society

April 23, 2023

Christian talks about those that have very little and how COVID amplified their difficulties

Kristal – Lack of Memorials During Pandemic

April 23, 2023

Kristal talks about how memorials can offer closure to people who are grieving, find a community, and share stories. With the absence of this during the pandemic, many people turned inward to grieve or isolated, which can create safety issues and have an impact on mental health. She speaks to how this leads to depression, physical pain, and it compounds upon itself.

Kate – COVID and grieving with my parents

March 11, 2023

Kate shares about how COVID was stress on top of dealing with the loss of her brother

Kate – Getting support

March 11, 2023

Kate talks about how difficult it is to ask for support

Nicole – Pandemic’s Effect on Safe Spaces and Mental Health Access

March 25, 2023

Nicole discusses how the pandemic affected access to safe spaces and shelters for those living rough and living with addiction.

Kristal – Poetry, Comedy, & Art for Grieving

April 23, 2023

Kristal discusses using poetry and other forms of creative expression as a distraction from her grief and to disassociate in a safe and productive way. She discusses grief being love with nowhere to go, so she puts it into art.

Laura- Loss to Covid & Disconnection

February 21, 2022