Candlelight vigil to mourn 'devastating' overdose deaths in Windsor-Essex
A vigil in the city's downtown core will mourn the 150 people who have died from an overdose in Windsor-Essex since 2013, including four suspected overdose deaths in one weekend.
Organizers are asking people to stand silently in honour of those who have died, at a candlelight vigil between 6 and 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16 — on the west side of Ouellette Avenue between University Avenue and Chatham Street.
Even the announcement of the vigil has brought out stories from the community, which McLaren hopes will remind people to approach the addiction issue more compassionately.
"So many people have come up to me with tears in their eyes, saying they lost their brother, they lost their father, their mother, their sister, their daughter to an overdose addiction and they feel so much shame," he said.
"I want to tell them first that they're not alone — this is a wide-ranging problem that many people are suffering from and I want to tell them it's not their fault that they lost a loved one."
"The people that have died, they're not junkies. They're not some kind of stereotype that we have. They're people first," said Riley McLaren, an organizer of the vigil.
McLaren said he and co-organizer George Bozanich were struck by the deadly 24-hour stretch between Nov. 10 and 11.
'Absolutely devastating'
"To think about that loss of life is absolutely devastating," said McLaren, adding that both men reflected on calls for more addiction treatment and programs this week.
"We didn't want to get too heavy into those questions, but first acknowledge those peoples' humanity," said McLaren.
"Collectively grieving together and acknowledging the humanity and the grief of those who have lost loved ones is incredibly important," he said.
McLaren added the community needs to consider the way people talk about those suffering from addictions.
"They're more than the mistakes in their life, they're more than a particular disease that they're plagued with - they're a human being," he said.
