Vigil at Gyro Park shared stories of loss, and hope for change amid ongoing overdose crisis

A group of activists and supporters gathered this week both virtually and in person at Gyro Park in Penticton to honour the lives lost to the opioid crisis, which has been an officially recognized public health emergency in B.C. for five years as of Wednesday.

The vigil was broadcast live online, and featured a lineup of speakers including former and current addicts, and grieving mothers whose children were lost to overdose.

A common theme throughout was a call for safe supply, and an end to the stigmatization of drug users that too often leads to people using alone, in secret, and succumbing to overdose.

The group's organizers, the Penticton Overdose Prevention Group and Moms Stop the Harm, have made the live-streamed event available to view now, to spread the stories of the vigil further for those who missed it Wednesday night.

Watch the full vigil above.