Black Balloon Day is coming up March 6th, which is a day to honour loved ones loss to the tragedy of overdose, as well as to help remove some of the stigma and build awareness around addictions.

"It started a couple years ago in the states with a woman whose husband died of an overdose and March 6th was his birthday," explained local organizer Janelle Kincaid. 

Kincaid's late husband Damon Grant was lost to an overdose in January of 2021.

"The reason why my kids and I have decided that we're going to start to do something in the Weyburn area is March 7th would have been Damon's 50th, and in honour of him, we're gonna start this."

She said she has had several people from the community reach out saying, 'if you need help with posters or doing whatever, give us a shout'.

Kincaid said she is hoping to help people understand addiction can happen to anyone. In fact, Damon became addicted following an unsuccessful back surgery due to a workplace injury.

"There's such a stigma on it, but it shouldn't be your brain and your mental health should be more in the forefront of you know, keeping oneself centered or being able to say, hey, I need help, I'm struggling, but we've all put such a stigma on oh that person is crazy. No. That person struggling. And for somebody to say that hey I need help is a very strong person in my opinion."

She shared how those struggling to find more resources can help themselves while coping with a loved one who is an addict.

"Let your addict know you love them, you support them, but you also have to put boundaries, because you need to set the boundaries for yourself so that you then don't become encompassed in and it overtakes your life. You need to be able to say, 'hey, this is where I draw the line'." 

Kincaid is collecting names of loved ones lost to addiction, as well as their photos and dates, which need to be sent to her by March 1st. She will set up balloons along Saskatchewan Drive in Weyburn in honour of those lost too soon to addiction in our community on Sunday, March 6th. Send the details to janellekincaid@outlook.com.

Find her full post HERE.

Read more and find additional resources HERE.