Red Deerians stood in solidarity and remembered their lost loved ones for International Overdose Awareness Day.
Moms Stop The Harm and Turning Point Society teamed up to host an International Overdose Awareness Day event in Red Deer on Friday, featuring a remembrance walk from Rotary Park to City Hall Park.
"We're coming together in solidarity to those who have lost their lives," said Wendy Little, Moms Stop The Harm advocate and peer facilitator for the Red Deer area's Healing Hearts grief support group.
"We want people to have open hearts and minds to harm reduction and harm reduction's role in dealing with the current drug crisis."
International Overdose Awareness Day is held on Aug. 31 and aims to spread the message about the tragedy of drug overdose deaths and that drug overdoses are preventable.
Little said Friday's event also aims to reduce the stigma surrounding addiction and open conversations within the community.
"Every single person who struggles with substance use disorder is somebody's child. Nobody wakes up in the morning and thinks, 'I'm going to be an addict today.' Addiction doesn't discriminate. Everybody and anybody is at risk," said Little.
Little’s son Quinn was 22 years old when he died from an opioid-related overdose in June 2020 in Delburne.
"He was just a kid," said Little.
"After I lost my son, I found Moms Stop The Harm not long after. For two years I was the only one in the area. Moms Stop The Harm connected me with other mothers in 2022, and that's when we starting advocating in Red Deer and quickly formed partnerships with Turning Point and other harm-reduction agencies within the city."
Friday's gathering was an emotional day for attendees, she added.
"There are very few people here today who haven't been directly or indirectly impacted by a loss.
"Everyone's here for their own personal reasons, but we all have one thing in common: we lost someone to the toxic drug supply. That needs to be addressed. People need to start being more aware that this isn't just happens to marginalized people."
The event began at Rotary Park at noon. People then walked to City Hall at about 2:30 p.m., where people came together in remembrance of the lives lost. While about 100 people attended the event, Little said she was hoping to see some more support for the event.
For more information on Moms Stop The Harm, visit www.momsstoptheharm.com. For more information on Turning Point, visit
