Toronto, August 31, 2025 — Last year, over 2,200 people in Ontario died due to opioid toxicity – an average of 6 people per day. They were our friends, colleagues, parents, children, and neighbours. While stigma and judgment force some people to hide their substance use, inadequate access substance use services, including harm reduction, counselling, case management, bed-based treatment, and supportive housing leading to worsening health outcomes for our communities.
On Sunday, communities across Ontario and around the world will hold events to honour the memory of those we have lost, hold space for family and friends, and amplify global calls for change. This year’s theme, “One Big Family”, recognizes the broader responsibility we all share to help end this crisis. Too often, overdose and overdose related deaths are only talked about in hushed circles, but the impacts of these preventable tragedies ripple across our workplaces, classrooms, and communities.
Across Ontario, AMHO members are on the front lines of the overdose crisis. They provide trauma-informed counselling, peer support, harm reduction services, overdose reversal, and do what it takes, without judgment or hesitation, to ensure people have access to the care they need, when and where they need it. On August 31st, as we come together to mark International Overdose Awareness Day, every story shared, every voice raised, and every step taken brings us closer to an Ontario free from overdose.