Grieving Mothers Share Stories Of Loss At Memorial Wall 8 Photos

About two hundred people attended a service at the Memorial Wall on Wednesday to mark World Overdose Awareness Day outside the Civic Centre, with two local mothers who each lost a child to overdoses sharing their stories of grief. Jennifer Theriault was one of two mothers who spoke at this year’s service. In her hands was a wooden box with a photo of her daughter Hannah, who died in 2018 at the age of 19. “I’m coming to this event in honor of my daughter and I’m actually bringing my daughter — that’s not a box, my daughter is in that box,” Theriault said, after the event. It took nearly four years for Theriault to find the courage to speak publicly about her daughter. He said Hannah would be proud of her for facing her fear. “Hannah wanted to be an addictions counselor, I’m trying to follow in her footsteps and help her friends. I talk to a lot of them on a daily basis,” Theriault said. Although she did not speak publicly at last year’s event, Theriault placed the casket containing her daughter’s remains on Mayor Christian Provenzano’s lap during the 2021 service. “This year he came to me. He knew who I was,” Theriault said. “Now he remembers and knows Hannah’s story.” Theriault wants to see more services come online for people living with addiction in Sault Ste. Marie, but she also notes that there are more supports than when her daughter was asking for help. “The last time my daughter wanted to go to therapy it was a two-week wait — it wasn’t going to be two weeks,” Theriault said. “Everything happens, it just happens too slowly. I just wish it would happen sooner so we can save more lives.” The service continued with comments from Provenzano and a cover of the song Dancing in the Sky, sung by Tym Morrison. International Overdose Awareness Day kicked off early Wednesday, with a purple flag raised at the Civic Centre, along with the flags of Canada and Ontario. SOYA founder Connie Raynor-Elliott said this is the first year the flag has been raised at town hall. At night, there are plans for the water tower at the Water Tower Inn to be lit up with purple light. After the service at the Memorial Wall, event attendees made their way to the Roberta Bondar Pavilion for a free barbecue and information session, with SOYA, Sault Ste. Marie and Area Drug Strategy and its partners. The community wellness bus was on hand, as were paramedics demonstrating CPR and administering Naloxone. Staff from Algoma Public Health, Breton House, Ken Brown Recovery Home and others had a table to discuss the services they offer. Raynor-Elliott said referrals are one of the most important free services SOYA provides. “There’s a big myth that there are no services in the Sault,” Raynor-Elliott said. “Services are out there, people just have to find them.” Lisa Foggia is the second of two mothers to speak at the service at the Memorial Wall. Her daughter Tia died in 2020. Raynor-Elliott said mothers who lose a child to addiction tend to either withdraw or lash out. “When we lost Tia she was wild. She’s a really strong advocate,” Raynor-Elliott said of Foggia. Speaking to SooToday after the event, Foggia said it’s important for her to speak at events like International Overdose Awareness Day to let other people grieving know they’re not alone. “It’s sad because you see the tears and the sadness on people’s faces just trying to hold it in,” Foggia said. “I see so many different faces and people from all walks of life and I think people are starting to realize how big of a problem this is.” He said the stigma experienced by people living with addiction is still a big problem in Sault Ste. Maria and other communities. “It’s because people don’t have a clear understanding of what addiction is,” Foggia said. Thinking back to watching her daughter compete, Foggia said she didn’t have the understanding of the subject that she does now. “There are things I would have done differently, but the love has always been there. Unfortunately, love was not enough,” he said. Many people reached out to her in the years after Tia’s death, telling her they didn’t know her daughter was living with addiction. “They have a sense of what an addict looks like,” Foggia said. “No, it’s your mothers, your daughters, your friends, your neighbors, your children and the people you talk to every day who are struggling. It doesn’t have to be opioids, it can be drugs, alcohol, it can be anything. You need to connect with people on a human level. He is missed so much.”

title: “Grieving Mothers Share Stories Of Loss At Memorial Wall 8 Photos Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-09” author: “Robert Sandage”

About two hundred people attended a service at the Memorial Wall on Wednesday to mark World Overdose Awareness Day outside the Civic Centre, with two local mothers who each lost a child to overdoses sharing their stories of grief. Jennifer Theriault was one of two mothers who spoke at this year’s service. In her hands was a wooden box with a photo of her daughter Hannah, who died in 2018 at the age of 19. “I’m coming to this event in honor of my daughter and I’m actually bringing my daughter — that’s not a box, my daughter is in that box,” Theriault said, after the event. It took nearly four years for Theriault to find the courage to speak publicly about her daughter. He said Hannah would be proud of her for facing her fear. “Hannah wanted to be an addictions counselor, I’m trying to follow in her footsteps and help her friends. I talk to a lot of them on a daily basis,” Theriault said. Although she did not speak publicly at last year’s event, Theriault placed the casket containing her daughter’s remains on Mayor Christian Provenzano’s lap during the 2021 service. “This year he came to me. He knew who I was,” Theriault said. “Now he remembers and knows Hannah’s story.” Theriault wants to see more services come online for people living with addiction in Sault Ste. Marie, but she also notes that there are more supports than when her daughter was asking for help. “The last time my daughter wanted to go to therapy it was a two-week wait — it wasn’t going to be two weeks,” Theriault said. “Everything happens, it just happens too slowly. I just wish it would happen sooner so we can save more lives.” The service continued with comments from Provenzano and a cover of the song Dancing in the Sky, sung by Tym Morrison. International Overdose Awareness Day kicked off early Wednesday, with a purple flag raised at the Civic Centre, along with the flags of Canada and Ontario. SOYA founder Connie Raynor-Elliott said this is the first year the flag has been raised at town hall. At night, there are plans for the water tower at the Water Tower Inn to be lit up with purple light. After the service at the Memorial Wall, event attendees made their way to the Roberta Bondar Pavilion for a free barbecue and information session, with SOYA, Sault Ste. Marie and Area Drug Strategy and its partners. The community wellness bus was on hand, as were paramedics demonstrating CPR and administering Naloxone. Staff from Algoma Public Health, Breton House, Ken Brown Recovery Home and others had a table to discuss the services they offer. Raynor-Elliott said referrals are one of the most important free services SOYA provides. “There’s a big myth that there are no services in the Sault,” Raynor-Elliott said. “Services are out there, people just have to find them.” Lisa Foggia is the second of two mothers to speak at the service at the Memorial Wall. Her daughter Tia died in 2020. Raynor-Elliott said mothers who lose a child to addiction tend to either withdraw or lash out. “When we lost Tia she was wild. She’s a really strong advocate,” Raynor-Elliott said of Foggia. Speaking to SooToday after the event, Foggia said it’s important for her to speak at events like International Overdose Awareness Day to let other people grieving know they’re not alone. “It’s sad because you see the tears and the sadness on people’s faces just trying to hold it in,” Foggia said. “I see so many different faces and people from all walks of life and I think people are starting to realize how big of a problem this is.” He said the stigma experienced by people living with addiction is still a big problem in Sault Ste. Maria and other communities. “It’s because people don’t have a clear understanding of what addiction is,” Foggia said. Thinking back to watching her daughter compete, Foggia said she didn’t have the understanding of the subject that she does now. “There are things I would have done differently, but the love has always been there. Unfortunately, love was not enough,” he said. Many people reached out to her in the years after Tia’s death, telling her they didn’t know her daughter was living with addiction. “They have a sense of what an addict looks like,” Foggia said. “No, it’s your mothers, your daughters, your friends, your neighbors, your children and the people you talk to every day who are struggling. It doesn’t have to be opioids, it can be drugs, alcohol, it can be anything. You need to connect with people on a human level. He is missed so much.”