Six Nations of the Grand River, near Hamilton, marked International Overdose Awareness Day on Wednesday with an event to raise awareness and share information about prevention, treatment and recovery available in the community.

Brittany Keesmaat, who is Cayuga from Six Nations, is an outreach worker at the Department of Well-Being and organized the event at Veterans Park. She said it was about honouring people wherever they were on their journey.

"It's really important to honour the lives of those who have died from a drug overdose," said Keesmaat.

"It's also to support people who are still using substances and show that we value those in recovery as well."

She said families who lose someone to an overdose often feel stigmatized in their grief and that lives deserve to be respected and

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