There weren’t a lot of dry eyes when dozens of people gathered in Kamloops today for International Overdose Awareness Day.

Many marched through Riverside Park before a bench was dedicated to people who are battling addiction or have died from an overdose.

Kamloops deputy mayor Kathy Sinclair says it’s encouraging to see so many people recognize the public health issue.

“I’ve seen countless people in our community from all backgrounds, and this is not an ‘us and them’ issue, this is an ‘all of us’ issue. And we all need to get educated and we all need to find a way to talk about this that doesn’t polarize people,” Sinclair says.

“It’s definitely the biggest turnout I’ve seen for similar events that I’ve participated in for International Overdose Awareness Day for the past couple of years. It’s great that awareness is growing… It touches every single person in our community.”

There were 19 fatal overdoses in Kamloops between January and June of this year.

Many just finished marching through Riverside Park in #Kamloops to recognize International Overdose Awareness Day, and a bench now being dedicated to people who have lost their life to substance use and people still struggling. @RadioNLNews pic.twitter.com/5QIaIzmLTt

— Colton Davies (@ColtonDavies_) August 29, 2019