Group plans vigil for four lost to overdose

A group is planning to hold a vigil Monday morning for the four people police say died of suspected overdoses last week. 

City police issued a warning to drug users and their families last week after a string of overdose calls over a span of four days that included four fatalities being investigated as being tied to opioid overdoses.

Now, a group called Sault Ste. Marie Sex Workers' Rights is planning a vigil in front of the courthouse at 10 a.m. on Monday for the four who died. The event is expected to last an hour.

This city's drug problem came under scrutiny earlier this year in a Vice/W5 documentary Steel Town Down, which was meant to highlight how the deadly fentanyl and opioid epidemic has spread to small communities like Sault Ste. Marie. It said between 40 and 50 people overdose in the city every month.

In response to the recent deaths, Mayor Christian Provenzano said last week that drug dealers are the issue, not those who use drugs. He said the city continues to push for a new 33-bed Level III Withdrawal Management Services facility for Sault Area Hospital. The $11-million facility would replace SAH's 16-bed detox centre on Queen Street East.