Purple ribbons put spotlight on overdoses

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This article was published 08/08/2020 (2068 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

August marks Overdose Awareness Month, and volunteers in the Wheat City have tied purple ribbons to local trees and bridges to raise awareness about the often-stigmatized deaths.

Organizer Antoinette Gravel-Ouellete said it’s about honouring loved ones who have died after an overdose or other drug-related death and to cut down on the fear and shame around it.

“There’s a lot of people, because of the stigma, they don’t talk about it or they don’t even let their family members know that’s how the person passed,” she said.

“Often on an autopsy report it might say heart failure, but the reason for the heart failure is because of substance poisoning.”

Volunteers tied ribbons to the David Thompson Bridge, near the Corral Centre over the Assiniboine River, and to trees in the south end of Dinsdale Park. Some of the ribbons in Dinsdale Park are also accompanied by photos of people who died after an overdose.

“I have taken a couple people down there just to have a conversation that this is what happened and it’s a difficult subject sometimes to talk about, but it’s also very necessary for people who are grieving those losses,” Gravel-Ouellete said.

“Unfortunately, Brandon has a lot more overdoses and overdose poisoning and people passing due to that than we realize — there’s a lot more that happens and it’s to raise that awareness and just keep bringing it to the forefront.”

The month is especially poignant due to the pandemic, which has increased the number of people overdosing. In British Colombia, the provincial coroner reported a record 175 overdose deaths in the province in June, up from 171 the month before. The previous record was set in May 2016, when 161 people died.

Gravel-Ouellette said the lockdown and accompanying shutdown of social activities increased many people’s sense of isolation. At the same time, in-person counselling was also largely put on hold, which made it more difficult for people to access their regular supports.

She said she believes the travel restrictions made it more difficult for people to access methamphetamine. As a result, they went to other, more potent drugs that are easier to overdose on. She said it is important for people who have Naloxone on hand when using and to have another person there who can call for help.

A number of local ice cream spots are also participating in Overdose Awareness Month through a program called Scoops of Love. Antoinette said shops around Brandon, Birtle, Wasaming and Gladstone are selling purple ice-cream cones to raise money fro Samaritan House Ministries.

“It’s another way to bring up conversations so people can have a conversation about substance poisoning or overdose,” she said.

There are also plans to build a memorial garden for people who have died due to drug overdoses. Planning for the project started last summer and Gravel-Ouellete said it is now moving toward completion.

“I’m very excited about it — I’m really excited. The intention was to have people come there and you don’t really have to say anything because you’ll see somebody else is there and it’s just non-verbal communication of grief that you each have a sense of what the other is going through and that you’re not alone.

“So often in this realm of things people feel very alone and I think COVID has made feel more isolated, and people need to know that they’re not alone.”

The COVID-19 pandemic put the planning on hold, but she said the group has worked with the City of Brandon to select a tentative location for it. More work is set to be done in spring 2021.

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