International Overdose Awareness Day flag raising ceremony held In Toronto

BY PAUL JUNOR

It was an emotionally moving, enriching, uplifting and inspiring day on Saturday, August 31^st, 2024.  It was the International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) flag-raising ceremony, which was held at Toronto’s City Hall. It was hosted by the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (Black CAP), which is the largest Black-specific AIDS service organization in Canada. IOAD2024 results from an engaging partnership between Black CAP, the African and Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario (ACCHO), Flags of Hope (FOH) and Families for Addiction Recovery (FAR).

It is the world’s largest annual campaign to: end overdose, remember without stigma those who have died, and acknowledge the grief of family and friends left behind. IOAD is driven by the following six principles:

• Overdose can and must be prevented.
• Overdose prevention solutions exist – let’s use them.
• Criminalizing drug use has not worked. Compassionate alternatives must be pursued.
• Policy and legislation must exist to protect individuals and communities and ensure basic human rights and needs are met.
• Everyone has a right to respectful and comprehensive health care.
• Only a community-wide effort can end overdose.

The City of Toronto provides details about the overdose crisis. Toronto Paramedic Services responded to 3,956 suspected opioid overdose calls in 2022 and 6,362 in 2021. This was amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic impact on mental health and substance abuse. Preliminary data from the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario revealed that in 2022 there were 508 deaths in Toronto because of the opioid toxicity. This is almost a 100% increase from 2021. Furthermore, in 2022 most occurred in private settings and almost 25% of those who died in Toronto were homeless. There were 187 such deaths in 2022 according to TPH.

The press release issued by Black CAP on Wednesday, August 28^th, 2024, describes IOAD as “The world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose, remember without stigma those who have died from an overdose, and acknowledge the grief of the families and friends left behind.” It spreads the message that the tragedy of overdose death is preventable. “The theme chosen for IOAD was ‘Together we can,’ which focuses on the power of our community when we stand together.”

Black CAP is committed to playing an active role in bringing the diverse stakeholders together to find a solution to this pandemic of the opioid crisis. The press release notes, “In line with this year’s theme, we want to highlight and celebrate the impact of collaborative efforts to mitigate the overdose crisis in communities across Canada.” It notes further, “This International Overdose Day, we say to all members of the African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) as well as other communities impacted by substance use and overdose “Together we can!”(#TogetherWeCan#IOAD24#EndOverdose).

The welcome address was given by Orville Burke, the Director of Health Promotions at Black CAP and MPP Krysten Wong-Tam of Toronto Centre riding addressed the crowd. It is important that politicians take this issue seriously as the ongoing impact of this social issue continues to touch many lives not just in Toronto, but all across Canada.