International Overdose Awareness Day marked in Windsor-Essex

A field of white wooden crosses on the front lawn of a downtown Windsor church was unveiled Thursday morning to mark International Overdose Awareness Day.

Each cross represents someone who died in the past year as a result of the ongoing opioid crisis in Windsor-Essex.

“Every single cross has a name of someone that's been impacted,” said co-organizer Tina Poisson with Reaching for the Stars Optimist Club of Windsor and Essex County. “Someone is impacted every single day by overdose and we can't shy away or hide anymore. We have to face it.”

Family, friends and advocates gathered outside All Saints’ Anglican Church near Windsor City Hall, joining millions worldwide in observing the day.

Poisson said the annual event aims to honour those who've lost their lives to addiction and seeks to reduce stigmas surrounding drug use by educating the public.

According to Poisson, 397 people in Windsor-Essex died between January 2018 and March 2023.

“If we can save just one person it counts,” she said. “If we can help one family, one person, it counts.”

A field of white wooden crosses on the front lawn of All Saints’ Anglican Church in Windsor, Ont. was unveiled on Aug. 31, 2023 to mark International Overdose Awareness Day. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)Poisson explained, “The biggest thing to know is it’s under reported. It's not essential to report overdoses to the Health Canada so it's grossly under reported. The numbers are way larger than what truly that signifies.”

Poisson noted that before the event began additional crosses were being requested by people passing by, who wanted to honour someone they knew who also died due to an overdose.

“We had 11 extra crosses when we came today. All 11 of those crosses are filled. So, it is an honour to be able to remember each and everyone,” she said. “There's so many community resources, and that's part of why we're here is to showcase them because no one is ever alone.”

“It really could land in your own backyard,” said Melissa Nespolon, whose brother Joe died from an overdose a few years ago.

Nespolon told CTV News Windsor the Windsor-Essex awareness event began in 2021 to honour her brother’s memory.

“It's really to keep his spirit alive and for just people to understand it really is an everyday person. He was the average little brother that you wanted to strangle sometimes, but he loved his job, loved his career, and this is an honour for him and his kids,” she said.

A field of white wooden crosses on the front lawn of All Saints’ Anglican Church in Windsor, Ont. was unveiled on Aug. 31, 2023 to mark International Overdose Awareness Day. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)“I really think unless you're involved in it, you don't understand really how bad it's gotten. And it really is just everyday people. My brother was a nurse, and unfortunately we lost him on Christmas Day 2020,” she said. ““Once it gets a hold of you, it's really tough to get away from.”

Cindy McIntosh also spoke at the event, sharing her message after losing two of her children to overdoses, most recently, her 33-year-old son five months earlier.

“It doesn't get easier. It's a fight we all need to be involved in because it hits every class,” she said. “It's middle, low, high. It doesn't pick or choose. It could be a mother, it could be a father. It could be aunts, uncles, siblings, your children.”

McIntosh added, “It's something that we have to deal with as a society as a whole. And we need it to not be a one day event. We need it to be a month long. We need it to be every day. We need awareness for these people to get help.”

Official said the crosses will remain outside the church for one month.

In the meantime, the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women and Families will host an event with informational booths, speakers, food, and activities for children at its facility on 500 Tuscarora St. on Sept. 1 from noon to 2 p.m.