WELLINGTON COUNTY – More than 2,200 Ontarians died from drug poisoning last year, which is why Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy manager Jean Hopkins is committed to raising awareness whilst battling the stigma.
To do so, WGDS host two events each year for Drug Poisoning Awareness Day. This year, events will be held on Aug. 21 in Mount Forest and Aug. 28 in Guelph.
“This annual event is an important opportunity for our community to come together, raise awareness and honour those we’ve lost,” Hopkins told the Advertiser.
“We’re facing continued challenges related to stigma, service changes in the community and an ongoing toxic drug supply making this year’s event especially significant,” she said.
Those service changes include the closure of the supervised consumption site at the Guelph Community Heath Centre since April 1, along with eight other consumption sites in Ontario.
During the two Drug Poisoning Awareness Days, community members, people with lived experience and partner organizations of the WGDS are slated to gather in Mount Forest and Guelph from 12 to 1pm to “remember lives lost and call for health-focused responses to the ongoing drug toxicity crisis that continues to impact communities across Wellington County,” Hopkins said.
The Mount Forest event will be held at King Street and Main Street with the Guelph event held at St. George’s Square in front of Capistrano Bistro and Espresso Bar.
The message Hopkins hopes to share is “Support, not stigma.”
“Reducing stigma helps ensure people seek the support and services they need without fear of judgement,” she said.
Participants can expect a gathering to remember lives lost with speakers sharing reflections.
Opportunities to learn about resources and organizations in the county that support people who use substances will be available.
There will be pizza for attendees.
Naloxone training will be offered to those interested in learning a life-saving skill.
There will be a moment of silence and a die-in to represent lives lost in Guelph and the county last year. A die-in is a demonstration which a group of people gather and lie down as if dead.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, since 2016 there have been over 40,600 opioid-related deaths nationwide.
In 2024, approximately 20 people died per day from drug toxicity with fentanyl involved in 74 per cent of opioid toxicity deaths.
“In Guelph and Wellington County alone, at least 46 lives were lost in 2024 to toxic drug supply,” Hopkins said. “It’s important that we recognize the pain behind these numbers.”
“These losses were members of our community.”
The event is in partnership with the WGDS peer advisory committee and many community agencies.
Each year, the organization collaborates with community members most impacted to design T-shirts with “community-driven messages.”
Shirt proceeds go directly to the Pathways to Remembering Memorial, which is working to meet a fundraising goal of $25,000 to have a permanent memorial in place for Drug Poisoning Awareness Day 2026.
Approximately $20,000 has be raised to date.
“Individuals and families in Guelph and Wellington who have lost loved ones to drug poisoning are not alone,” stated a press release about the events.
“Across Ontario and Canada, thousands are experiencing similar grief and loss.”
For more information visit wgdrugstrategy.ca.
