5th Annual “We Remember Them” Event to Honour Lives Lost to Opioid Crisis in Owen Sound

Community members will gather on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Owen Sound Farmers’ Market from 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM to honour those lose to opioid addiction.

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The community is invited to come together in remembrance and solidarity at the 5th annual We Remember Them event, taking place on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Owen Sound Farmers’ Market. Running from 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM, the event is a powerful tribute to those lost to the opioid crisis in Owen Sound and surrounding communities.

Loved ones are encouraged to take a carnation and release it into the Sydenham River, where the flowers will drift out into the bay a symbolic act of remembrance and love. In addition, attendees are invited to bring a photo of a loved one lost to substance use to add to the event’s community memory board.

This heartfelt initiative was founded in 2021 by Gelja Sheardown, in memory of her late husband, Barrett Warwick, who died of a fatal overdose. “He worked 7 days a week, he was a wonderful father, he was a wonderful husband—and then he was gone,” Sheardown shares. Since then, the event has grown into a space for healing, reflection, and awareness.

This year’s event also includes:

• Donation opportunities in support of the Supportive Outreach Service (SOS) Project, which provides vital aid to individuals affected by substance use.

• Grey Bruce Public Health will be onsite distributing Naloxone kits and offering information about the current opioid crisis in the Grey-Bruce region.

Let us come together to remember, to grieve, and to stand united in the face of an ongoing public health crisis. Your presence can help create change, foster compassion, and honour the lives we’ve lost.

Let’s stand together in remembrance.