As SOYA remembers more locals lost to overdose, space on memorial wall is filling up

Put in place just over two years ago to remember locals who lost their lives to drug poisoning, the memorial wall outside the Civic Centre is running out of space for names on its front and will soon have to start putting names on its back side.

On Thursday night, Save Our Young Adults (SOYA) hosted its third annual candlelight vigil marked every Nov. 30 to remember those lost to substance use disorder.

About 80 names have been added so far, with nine more planned to be added in the near future. The front side of the memorial has space for 105 names total, with each added to a star on the design.

In the two-plus years since the wall was built, the statistics for the Sault have not improved significantly. Data provided earlier this month by the Office of the Chief Coroner show 22 confirmed and probable opioid toxicity deaths were recorded in the Algoma Public Health unit for the first half of 2023.

SOYA founder Connie Raynor-Elliott told SooToday the wall was always intended to allow for expansion as more names are added, but said she was not prepared for the pace at which they are going up.

"They [names] can go on the other side, but the way the stars are going up, it’s scary,” she said.

Currently, a sidewalk is only accessible on the memorial's front side. Asked if the city will have to build an additional pathway around the back when it's expanded, Raynor-Elliott said "they will have to."

About 30 people were in attendance on Thursday for the vigil, with some holding candles or photos of their loved ones.

Asked about what steps are needed to turn the tide against the stagnant opioid death rate in the Sault, Raynor-Elliott echoed her past statements about the loss of the concurrent disorders day treatment program that was offered for a time by Sault Area Hospital but is currently awaiting a decision on provincial funding.

“We need our day treatment program back," she said. "We need a treatment centre in our city, to give people a chance to not be on our wall."