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Nanaimo memorial for overdose victims a salve for loved ones

Dallas Forbes, a young, pregnant mother from Courtenay, will attend a memorial for overdose victims in Nanaimo today to honour her late partner.
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Lamille Harder, 30, was a father of two (and one on the way) from Courtenay who died from a fentanyl overdose on Feb. 23. He and others will be honoured at a memorial tree dedication in Nanaimo Saturday. Family photo

Dallas Forbes, a young, pregnant mother from Courtenay, will attend a memorial for overdose victims in Nanaimo today to honour her late partner.

“I’m thankful to be able to go to something like this to be with others who know what I’m going through,” Forbes said.

Lamille Harder, died Feb. 23 from a fentanyl overdose. The couple, both 30, have a two-year-old son, a three-year-old daughter and child on the way. They had recently moved to the Island from Edmonton, she said.

“He was a wonderful person and such a great dad. A hard worker, a tinkerer and a bright soul who could fix anything,” Forbes said. Harder struggled with addiction after being prescribed opioids for an injury at work. “He’d battled addiction in the past, but hadn’t used in a year.”

She said Harder had gone to Victoria for a roofing job and went out for drinks with friends after work. When he hadn’t returned home by the morning, she contacted police to report him missing.

“I went looking for him,” Forbes said. He was found dead in his van near Cumberland two days later. A toxicology report revealed he had fentanyl is his system.

“It was pretty devastating … and I’m still so emotional, being six months pregnant, knowing my child isn’t going to meet her dad,” Forbes said.

She does not think Harder was aware of the danger of the powerful opioid fentanyl and hopes more public awareness could prevent similar deaths.

There were 488 illicit drug overdose deaths in B.C. in the first four months of 2017, including 84 on the Island. This follows an unprecedented 935 deaths in 2016 — a number that prompted a public health emergency. Nearly half of the deaths involved the deadly opioid fentanyl, which many might have consumed unknowingly.

Today’s memorial will include the dedication of two cherry trees to be planted in Beaufort Park’s “living food forest” and a plaque with more than 30 names of overdose victims from across the Island and globe.

“The idea was suggested to us by someone in recovery as something we could do to help people get a little closure,” said Tanya Hiltz, vice-president at the Nob Hill Community Association.

Hiltz said her small non-profit society works with homeless people and the low-income population of Nanaimo, providing meals, a community garden project and book nook. The society also helped revitalize Wisteria Lane.

“We’ve lost ones we work with to the overdose crisis,” Hiltz said.

When she joined social media support groups for families and friends of those who died, “I realized how touching it was to have someone think of the families and how many felt alone and wanted answers.”

The community group decided to plant a tree in memory of those lost to overdoses and install a plaque with their names and the month and year they died.

Hiltz went to the online community and was overwhelmed by the response of parents, partners, children and friends who were searching for support and understanding.

“The numbers [of overdoses] aren’t going down. We all have to reach out and see what we can do,” Hiltz said.

More than 30 people responded asking for their loved one’s name to be added. Hiltz said about half are from the Island and others are from the U.K., Squamish and Vancouver.

“There’s even a family from Texas who want to come for the event,” she said, adding about 10 families are set to attend. Nanaimo Mayor Bill McKay is to speak.

The memorial tree event takes place at 2:30 p.m. at Deverill Park at 200 Irwin St. in Nanaimo. Those who attend are welcome at the community barbecue as well, from 12 to 6 p.m.

If you would like to add a name to the plaque, contact Tanya Hiltz at 250-755-1014.

spetrescu@timescolonist.com