One of the many events that the grief community participate in is International Overdose Awareness Day, held August 31st. This day remembers, with love, those who have died and acknowledges the pain felt by family and friends left behind. It is a day that reminds us that drug overdose is the world’s worst public health crisis. And what are we doing about it?
I had a colleague say if you want to solve the problem, don’t stand on the shore, and wonder why the fish are dying. Travel up the river and see where the problem begins.
What would we find up the river of a drug overdose? Would we see a health care system that has failed? Would we see a community that is judgemental and non-accepting of diversity? Would we see fear and loneliness of those seeking refuge?
No child says, “when I grow up, I want to have a drug overdose”. And yet the Centre for Disease Control & Prevention reports in 2020 over 93,000 people lost their life to overdose. How can we, as a society, continue to sit quietly?
I don’t know of one person whose life has not been touched by drug overdose. A neighbor, a school chum, a co-worker, a family member. And God help us when it is your child. The stories all have a common thread; there was a physical or mental incident, once or many times, the person sought relief in a drug. It does not matter if that drug was alcohol, or pain killers, or heroin. When an overdose occurs, it could be a moment of grace and salvation, but often, it is a permanent injury or sudden death.
The stigma a parent has with the death of a child by overdose is one of shame. Society whispers ‘oh that is the one whose child was a drug addict’ as if somehow their life could not be touched by such tragedy. And not all drug overdoses are by addicts. Not the point. The point is we have a crisis that affects us all.
My belief is this is the first step. We must agree that we are all a part of this crisis, and we need to work together to fix it. There is no shame or blame around the loss of a child by overdose. A loss is a loss. Every death is a tragedy.
We must pull our head out from the sand and acknowledge we are all vulnerable to this crisis. We must open our heart to others and embrace our differences.
We must hold our health care system accountable for what is dispensed and how. We must demand a stronger focus on the resources needed for alternative treatments, pre-assessments, and support.
Most importantly we must hold tight to each other. Keep talking, listen to one another, be there for one another. We must remember that we are all connected. Only then will the needed attention to this crisis be delivered.
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