'They're not forgotten': Memorial smudge walk honours lives lost to drug overdose and addiction

Despite the cold, dozens of people gathered in the North Central neighbourhood on Friday afternoon for a smudge walk honouring Saskatchewan lives lost to overdose, addiction and mental illness.

The walk was organized by Pamela Belanger, whose son Vernon died exactly one year ago from a drug overdose. He was 35.

“He was an addict and he was also my son. He was a father, he was a brother and he was a person,” Belanger said. “The stigma that comes with being an addict - he is loved by many other people and [the walk] is just in memory of all the people we lost in 2021.”

Some who gathered held butterfly signs with the names of the people who they are remembering.

Claudette Alexson was there to represent her daughter’s father.

“He passed away on March 3, 2020 when COVID-19 first started,” Alexson said. “He wasn’t really into this kind of lifestyle but in the end, it took him down.”

She said he developed an addiction to painkillers after a back injury. From there, he started using harder drugs.

“[The walk] helps me to feel that we’re all in the same boat. We’ve all lost somebody that we care about,” Alexson said. “Some of us have walked both sides of the street so we know what it’s like and how hard it is to get out of that lifestyle.”

In 2021, Saskatchewan reported a record number of overdose deaths with 464.

Members of the Regina Police Service attended Friday’s smudge walk and said there are ongoing efforts to find solutions to the overdose crisis.

“Nothing has changed with our focus. [Overdose] is still a huge issue in our community,” Dean Rae, the deputy chief of the Regina Police Service, said. “The Regina Police Service continues to work with community partners, continues to work with health, trying to come up with solutions for some of these issues.”

For many participants, raising awareness about the ongoing problem was an important reason to take part in the smudge walk.

Tammy McMillan, an employee with Eagle Heart Centre in Regina and co-organizer of the smudge walk, said the public needs to know there are still problems that need solving in the city.

“I think that the biggest thing for that is bringing awareness to the severity of mental health, the severity of addictions, the severity of homelessness and lots of those go hand in hand,” she said.

Belanger led the walk from the Creeland Mini Mart to the Mamaweyatitan Centre, holding a banner of her son the entire way.

She said she hopes people who took part in the smudge walk, and the community, are reminded of one simple yet powerful message.

“I want the public to know that the many that we lost, they’re not forgotten,” Belanger said.