A safe and healthy community for all.
Sea to Sky residents are invited to a film screening on August 19 at the Squamish Adventure Centre, a speaking event on August 31 at Junction Park to honour those lost to toxic drugs, along with chair painting and shirt making activities at the Overdose Prevention Site (OPS) throughout the month.
The largest event will be held in Junction Park from 2-5 p.m. on August 31, International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD). Speakers from across the Sea to Sky and Lower Mainland will address the effects of the toxic drug crisis on communities and families and offer paths forward through individual grief and collective solutions.
The event will open with a welcome from the Squamish Nation and an address from Mayor Armand Hurford, and will include guest speaker Garth Mullins, Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), original music from Benjamin Lewis, Squamish Nation, and contributions from the Coalition of Peers Dismantling the Drug War (CPDDW).
On August 19th from 4-6 p.m., the CAT will screen Toxic, a 2022 documentary on the Vancouver opioid crisis to provide an opportunity to learn more about the opioid crisis from those with lived experience. Blue Martell, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) will facilitate a discussion and debrief. Tickets for this free event are found here.
A purple chair painting event will be held on August 11 from 1-3pm outside the OPS. Modelled after the North Shore’s Purple Chair Awareness Campaign, each painted chair is intended to represent a person lost to toxic drug poisoning who is loved, missed, and remembered. Every empty painted chair will be displayed throughout Squamish to honour the life lost and prompt a call to action.
On August 25, our community will host a t-shirt tie dying workshop outside the OPS from 11:00-2:30 p.m. All materials will be provided, including t-shirts in a variety of sizes. The purple-dyed shirts will be ready for pickup from the OPS on August 28, in time for them to be worn to IOAD.
Alongside these four events, there will be a display at the library highlighting some incredible, curated literature and a window display at Pearls with an art piece by Squamish Nation member and Emergency Outreach Worker, Benjamin Lewis.
While the toxic drug crisis continues to devastate communities, harm reduction, education, holistic support models, and community care are saving lives. Join our community to be part of the solution.
