Grieving Edmonton families launch overdose awareness campaign
A group of bereaved families who have lost their loved ones to overdose have launched a billboard campaign in Edmonton to honour them and educate the public about what they call a toxic drug supply crisis.
Ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31, the group, Moms Stop The Harm, gathered at the site of the billboard.
“It’s important to put a face to the victims,” said Angela Welz from Moms Stop The Harm. “These loved ones are not statistics. They were loved deeply by many, many many people.”
Welz told Global News that a similar billboard campaign has been running for nine years, and it has grown over the years. More than 30 faces are shown in this year’s campaign.
“We continue to lose loved ones on a regular basis,” Welz said.
This is the first time that Karen Cadieux will see her son’s face on a billboard. Forty-two-year-old Stephen Klein died of an overdose in March 2025. According to the Alberta substance use surveillance system, he was one of 82 people in Edmonton who died by drug poisoning in the city that month.
“Before Stephen passed, I had no idea what was happening out there,” Cadieux said.
Cadiuex thinks her son would be proud of her for speaking out and sharing her story. She believes the focus needs to be on more harm reduction strategies in the province, including things like supervised consumption sites and drug testing.
“I think if Stephen had could have gotten his drug tested easily, for example, I think it would’ve shown that it was carfentanyl, and I think he’d be alive today,” Welz said.
In a statement to Global News, the province expressed its deepest sympathies for people who lost loved ones to an overdose.
“While we know there is still much to do, we are seeing signs that our recovery-oriented system of care is working, with overdose deaths down by about 36 per cent in 2024, compared to 2023,” said Nathaniel Dueck, the press secretary for Alberta’s Mental Health and Addiction ministry.
In February 2025, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced her government plans to spend $180 million over three years to build two involuntary drug addiction treatment centres.
Smith said the treatment centres are to be located in Edmonton and Calgary and have 150 secure beds each.
Moms Stop the Harm and other organizations have spoken out against the plan, concerned about the impact of forcing someone into treatment.
“I think community needs to stand behind harm reduction,” Welz said. “Harm reduction sites are important in every community, not just in the downtown core, because people are using substances everywhere in this city.”
“I think that if more harm reduction strategies were in place, I think (Stephen) could be alive today,” Cadieux added. “We can’t stick our heads in the sand. This is a crisis that’s happening, and I only see it getting worse.
International Overdose Awareness Day is the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose and drug poisoning deaths, and to remember those who have died.
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