A barbecue and candlelight vigil will mark this year’s Overdose Awareness Day in Langley on Tuesday, Aug. 31.
“Things are not getting any better,” when it comes to overdoses in B.C. or Langley, noted Daniel Snyder, the project coordinator and chair of Langley’s Community Action Table on Overdose Response.
Overdoses began spiking five years ago when fentanyl and other potent drugs began turning up in street drugs.
Since a public health emergency was declared in April 2016, 175 people have lost their lives in Langley to overdoses and toxic drugs, Snyder said.
“This issue is killing five people a day in B.C.”
The Overdose Awareness Day is aimed at raising awareness of the ongoing crisis and remembering those who have died.
It begins at 6 p.m. at Derek Doubleday Arboretum on Fraser Highway at 6 p.m., Aug. 31 with an elder’s blessing, followed by a walk, with first responder’s escort, to Douglas Park in Langley City.
At about 6:30 p.m. events begin again at Douglas Park’s Spirit Square, with a barbecue, community agencies providing information, and Naloxone training.
Langley City Mayor Val van den Broek and Cloverdale-Langley City Liberal candidate John Aldag will speak, as will Mom’s Stop the Harm member Lisa Weih.
At 8 p.m. there will be a candlelight vigil with Indigenous drumming and a moment of silence.
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/events/341831010685974.
READ MORE: Langley drug deaths still high in early months of 2020
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