The annual Overdose Awareness Walk was held in Couchiching First Nation on September 14, 2024. This event coincided with International Overdose Awareness Day and featured a memorial walk as well as individuals sharing personal stories and information on prevention, support, and intervention. A community barbecue followed the walk and employees from New Gold participated in the event.
“To me, the walk is about coming together to commemorate those we have lost, to support and empower our people through the hard journey of addiction recovery, so future generations will not have to fight these battles.” Said Alex Bruyere, Community Manager at the Rainy River Mine.
The family of the late Chaucey Lyle Grover III partly organized the walk to commemorate his life and the lives of others lost to drug overdoses. Chauncey went missing and died in 2020 following a drug overdose. The family initiated organizing the first Overdose Awareness Walk in 2020 to honour lives lost to addiction and families impacted by the opioid crisis.