Many people wear the colour purple for International Overdose Awareness Day as a reminder that every life is precious.
People around the country are now painting chairs purple for those missing at their dinner tables.
Tuk Gordon, a community support advocate working in harm reduction in Saskatoon decided to paint a purple chair to remember people who have passed away from fatal overdoses.
Gordon started with Saskatoon Cares four years ago and is now the founder of Got Snacks 306, a harm reduction organization that provides services and support to those struggling.
While painting, he noted the significance behind the chair as it is from his first job in harm reduction, and it is his first time swiping the colour onto a seat.
“We paint these chairs purple to signify a lost loved one or friend or community member that didn’t make it home,” said Gordon.
“If you think that it doesn’t affect you, you’re wrong.”
Mother and Saskatchewan Lead for Moms Stop The Harm, Marie Agioritis lost her son Kelly to overdose in 2015 just four days after Boxing Day.
She remembers Boxing Day being the last big family supper she had with her son before he passed.
Now, a purple chair remains on her front step to signify that her son will not be forgotten.
“The moments that you sit down as a family, the one thing that’s always missing is him, is her, is that child. It’s that empty chair at the table and it doesn’t matter if every seat’s taken, there’s always an empty chair at the table,” said Agioritis.
Saskatchewan saw a record-high amount of overdoses in 2021, with 366 accidental deaths.
This year, according to the Saskatchewan Coroners Service, the province has seen 65 confirmed accidental deaths and 189 more suspected.
Those working in harm reduction noted the problem is not going to be solved until there are more resources not only for those who struggle with addiction but for the people working on the frontlines as well.
Prairie Harm Reduction is a safe consumption site with different services included to help combat addictions.
Executive Director Kayla DeMong said the organization has been denied provincial funding for three years in a row.
“For those of us that are working frontlines, it is exhausting to know that we continue to show up and fight every day and we’re not getting any additional support,” said DeMong.
People remembering loved ones will display their purple chairs for International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31.
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