Moms Stop the Harm will have two memorial Christmas trees set up this month for people to pay tribute to family and friends who have died from drug poisonings.
One tree is located in the lobby of the downtown branch of the Red Deer Public Library. The other will be set up near gift shop Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre on Dec. 15. Names of those who have died can be written on purple paper hearts available by the trees to hang on the branches.
The tradition started last year with a Moms Stop the Harm tree at the hospital. Both trees will be up until Jan. 1.
“When we took our tree down at the hospital last year there were 270 purple hearts that were placed on that tree in the month of December. Some of those hearts had multiple names on them,” said Wendy Little, Moms Stop the Harm member.
The group, which is a network of Canadian families impacted by substance-use-related harms and deaths, advocate for evidence-based prevention, treatment and policy change.
Related:
34 opioid poisonings in Red Deer as of August
Little said government response to the crisis has been too slow and far from adequate. A lot of people are not going to survive.
“We lose five Albertans a day.”
According to Alberta’s Substance Use Surveillance System opioid poisonings have taken 34 lives in Red Deer, 83 Alberta Health Services Central Zone and 1,262 lives in Alberta in the first eight months of 2023.
She said people often pretend the opioid crisis is not happening until it impacts them personally. The memorial trees are meant to raise awareness, reduce stigma and judgement, and support those who have lost loved ones.
Little said in many ways she feels that Moms Stop the Harm is like Mothers Against Drunk Drivers who worked to change the attitude towards drinking and driving. Hopefully, the pain and cries of mothers will make a difference when it comes to addressing the toxic drug crisis.
Related:
Naloxone: What to know about the overdose-reversing drug, free across Canada
In February Moms Stop the Harm in Red Deer started a local peer-led support group Healing Hearts chapter that has grown from three attendees to 13.
For more information visit www.momsstoptheharm.com and www.healingheartscanada.org.
On Thursday at 2 p.m. by the memorial tree in the library, the Red Deer chapter of the Alberta Alliance Who Educates and Advocates Responsibly (AAWEAR) and Moms Stop the Harm will host a short vigil to honour and remember those who have died.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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