'I miss him incredibly': Winnipeggers gather for vigil to remember loved ones lost to overdose

Winnipeggers who have lost loved ones to overdose gathered Wednesday to mark International Overdose Awareness Day.

A vigil organized by Overdose Awareness Manitoba was held at a memorial garden along Waterfront Drive in honour of those who have died.

The garden, called the Gone Too Soon Garden, was adorned with photos of those lost to overdose, messages of hope and many touches of purple – the colour that has long been used to represent lives lost to overdose.

Attendees also lit candles on a cake and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ in honour of all the birthdays those who died will not get to have.

The organization’s co-founder Arlene Last-Kolb has dedicated her life to stopping overdose deaths after losing her son in 2014.

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She said the day was amazing, but difficult.

"I will go home now, and I will probably cry. I think that probably everybody here will go home and cry.” she told CTV News Winnipeg. “We do what we have to do but at the end of the day, I'm never going to see my son again, and I miss him incredibly."

According to Overdose Awareness Manitoba, 1,879 Manitobans have died from poisoned drugs and other drug-related harms between January 2014 and January 2022. Of that number, 407 died in 2021, and 107 died in the first three months of 2022.

- With files from CTV’s Renée Rodgers and Michelle Gerwing