The United Way is holding its 6th Annual We Remember Them event to pay tribute to loved ones who have died from opioid overdoses in the region.
United Way of Bruce Grey Executive Director Francesca Dobbyn spoke with Bayshore News about the event.
“This is an event that memorializes, and gives families in our community the opportunity to publicly recognize and acknowledge the loss of their family members to the opioid overdose crisis,” she explained.
Dobbyn said that it’s important to remember those that have been lost, and that the event gives a chance to bond with others who have been through the same tragedy within their own families and friend groups.
Earlier this year, Grey County Paramedics reported fewer overdoses from opioids, which echoed the findings from a report that was discussed by Grey Bruce Public Health in June 2025.
Grey County reported a 61 percent reduction in calls for opioid overdoses between 2024 and 2025. The number of deaths, meanwhile, dropped from 18 in 2024 to just five in 2025.
While the statistical trends are promising, Dobbyn said that more work needs to be done.
“For that number to achieve zero, we need housing supports, we need income supports, we need to have discussions around things like safe consumption, safe supply,” she said. “The supply on the street is highly, highly toxic. That’s what’s causing the deaths.”
Removing a toxic supply, or helping drug users avoid street drugs tainted with fentanyl is just one part of the solution.
Dobbyn said that fighting addiction and overdoses needs a multi-faceted approach.
“We need to just keep having those community conversations. We need to look at how the medical system treats pain management, because a lot of the people that end up with addictions to opioids start with a prescription, because of pain.”
The We Remember Them event will be held at the Owen Sound Farmers Market on Saturday, March 28th, from 8am-12:30pm.
Those who attend will be able to give donations to the United Way of Bruce Grey to help with their work with community partners to help people recover from their addiction.
There will also be carnations available to put into the river, to symbolize a lost love one.
The We Remember Them event was founded in 2021 by Gelja Sheardown, in memory of her late husband Barrett Warwick, who died of a fatal overdose.