Comox Valley gathers for the 25th International Overdose Awareness Day
A display outside of CVAG shows photos of loved ones lost to overdoses. (Jeannie Lin / CHLY 101.7 FM)
On August 27th, community members gathered at the Comox Valley Art Gallery ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31st.
The annual observance provides an opportunity for communities to recognize the grief experienced by families and friends who have lost loved ones as a result of an overdose.
“It's about allowing a space for us to really see and connect with each other. We heal in community. This is grief, this is loss, and it's deep. You know, people have lost their children. Myself, I've lost a sibling. There's just so many people in the community that this has affected, and we really need a place to gather,” said Amanda Larabie, a member of Healing Hearts Canada.
Healing Hearts Canada is an organization that offers support for Canadian families who have lost loved ones due to substance use related harms. Larabie lost her brother to the crisis in 2018. She now works as a grief and loss facilitator with the Comox Valley chapter, supporting others in the community through the loss of loved ones.
“This is 25 years of this particular event happening globally, so this is a global event. But in British Columbia, this is also the 10th year of a public health emergency that was declared in 2016. So we've got these two, like, strange milestone kind of dates, you know, and it really begs you to kind of question and think about, like, what are we doing? We've been a decade into, essentially B.C. being in a public health emergency crisis over this, and we've not seen, we're not seeing government moving fast enough,” said Larabie.
According to BCEHS, the City of Courtenay recorded 462 paramedic responses to overdoses in the community in 2025, and the Town of Comox recorded 28.
Larabie said that there are still gaps that need to be filled when it comes to preventative care, and that government action is urgent.
“There's a lot of people who use drugs. There's people who are weekend warriors, and first time users, and regular users, and binge users, and a lot of people use drugs for a lot of different reasons. And there's folks then of course that use more consistently and regularly. And so everybody on that spectrum is vulnerable. Everybody on that spectrum is at risk, and this is the crisis that we're in. We need government to step up. We've been here for 10 years,” said Larabie.
According to B.C.'s HelpStartsHere, overdoses are preventable, and there are steps people can take to reduce risks and help save lives. One of those steps is learning how to use naloxone, a medication that can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose. Residents are encouraged to carry a naloxone kit and learn how to administer it.
Larabie said that one of the goals of the day is to challenge the stigma of those who are affected by the crisis.
“My brother had a very good job, and he, you know, had a wonderful vehicle and drove an expensive BMW and we automatically, I think, as society, we're still looking at the most vulnerable people and, who are the most vulnerable and need so many supports and so much care. But we're looking at this crisis as, like, only folks who may be unfortunately unhoused, right? The statistics say that the more people who, that are dying from this are housed. They're folks that are, you know, middle class, working people,” said Larabie.
She said that there are many people in the Comox Valley working to support those affected by the crisis.
“ I'd just love folks to know that there's a really strong and caring community here in the Comox Valley. There's a lot of people who are doing a lot of work to really make change,” said Larabie.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.
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