Dozens of people congregated at Clergue Park Monday afternoon to remember lives lost to overdose.
The memorial walk, organized by the relatively new peer support group Addiction and Mental Health Advocates, was held in concert with International Overdose Awareness Day events taking place throughout the world Monday.
“There’s a lot of grief, a lot of pain - but this is a special way of remembering,” said Donna DeSimon, who started the peer support group in October. “We all walk for somebody, all of us.”
DeSimon says events like this are important in terms of stripping the stigma away from the topics of addiction and mental health.
“It’s to remember those we have lost to overdose, but it’s also to take away the stigma of death from overdose,” she told SooToday. “A lot of people don’t like the stigma that goes along with overdose. A lot of families won’t say that their loved one died of an overdose.”
“What we are trying to do is get rid of that stigma for overdose death, or even anyone that has overdosed. There’s a lot of people that overdose that don’t die.”
Addictions and Mental Advocates meet up on a weekly basis in Sault Ste. Marie, bringing in anywhere from 15 to 20 people per meeting. DeSimon figures there are between 40 and 50 members of the group altogether.
But the COVID-19 pandemic complicated that.
“We did some online meetings during the pandemic, and they were good, they were OK to keep in touch with everyone. But it wasn’t the same as that face-to-face encounter,” DeSimon said.
Addiction and Mental Health Advocates have released two petitions - one pushing for a Level III Withdrawal Management facility, and a new online petition calling on increased funding for mental health services.
DeSimon says the work being done by the group is being carried out with its own funding. A two-night series of monologues dealing with addictions and mental health in partnership with the Fishbowl Festival earlier this year provided the cash flow for this year’s walk.
It’s hoped the group can incorporate itself in order to be eligible for grants and other funding sources down the road.
DeSimon feels the work that’s being done on the ground in the peer support group is important, and open to anyone who has had experience, whether direct or indirect, with addiction and mental health issues.
“Anyone that suffers from addiction - families that are dealing with addiction, and anyone with mental health issues,” she said of her peer support group. “No judgement.”