On Sunday, Aug. 31, the Sunshine Coast will observe International Overdose Awareness Day with a heartfelt community event at Hackett Park in Sechelt. Organized by i2i Peer Support and the newly reconfigured Sunshine Coast Community Action Team, the gathering runs from 2 to 5 p.m. and invites all to honour lives lost to the toxic drug crisis and support those affected.
The event will feature musical performances by DJ Robby Luvdub, the Threshold Singers, Virginia Lennig, Jill Shatford, and Khyah Singh.
Activities for attendees include a heart circle, grief support, naloxone training, and contributing to a memorial art booth.
Information tables will be available to help raise awareness around the toxic drug crisis.
In British Columbia, the crisis continues to claim hundreds of lives a year. According to the BC Centre for Disease Control, there was an average of 5.5 deaths per day from toxic drug poisoning in April 2025. Fentanyl remains the most commonly detected substance, and nearly half of all deaths occurred in private residences.
Additionally, the BC CDC has recorded that during 2025, 68 per cent of drug toxicity deaths in B.C. occurred among people aged 30 to 59, and 77 per cent of those deaths were male.
The Sunshine Coast Community Action Team and i2i Peer Support encourage everyone to attend, whether to grieve, learn, or stand in solidarity. For more information, contact Brian and Kenn at [email protected] or 604-740-6495.
Jordan Copp is Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
Words missing in article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.
