Sudbury aims to create permanent memorial for opioid crisis victims

The Crosses for Change in Greater Sudbury’s downtown core were put up in 2020 to remember people in the community who have died during the opioid crisis.

The Crosses for Change in Greater Sudbury’s downtown core were put up in 2020 to remember people in the community who have died during the opioid crisis. The site is pictured here on September 16, 2024. (Alana Everson/CTV News Northern Ontario)

Officials with the city confirmed to CTV News that staff is working with the founder of the initiative to find a new permanent memorial site to replace the crosses.

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Gary Hamilton says he is homeless and struggling with an addiction to fentanyl.

Hamilton told CTV News that he has overdosed ten times and survived – he said the Crosses for Change memorial has helped to show many in the area the deadly impact of the opioid crisis.

“Sitting on the corner the way it is now it does look like it’s a graveyard with all the crosses and stuff like that,” he said.

“I think the point has been made with the crosses the way they have been put into place and it’s a very valuable point.”

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Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre also confirmed that the city is in talks with the founder of Crosses For Change to replace the crosses with a permanent memorial at a location that has yet to be determined.

Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre speaks with CTV News about creating a permanent memorial for opioid crisis victims in the city on September 16, 2024. (Alana Everson/CTV News Northern Ontario)

“It’s a tragedy that we are all living in and so how do we do that in a dignified way? That is the most important aspect for me is we do it in a dignified way,” he said.

“(A way) where we respect these people that have passed and we recognize certainly the tragedy that we are living in today.”

Hamilton said he has volunteered at the site to maintain it and that he knows more than 40 people with crosses here adding that he deeply admires the aim of the initiative to raise awareness about the opioid crisis. However, Hamilton acknowledges it was never meant to be a permanent site and supports the creation of one.

Gary Hamilton of Greater Sudbury, Ont. struggles with fentanyl addiction. He has volunteered to maintain the Crosses for Change site in the city's downtown. (Alana Everson/CTV News Northern Ontario)

“We should have a time and a place when you want to go and visit the memorial and have that mindset of the people you miss and the situation at hand,” he said.

“As far as it, goes multiple crosses to make that point across, I think it has made its point and if it was up-to-date there would be crosses going out into the street right now.”

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Lefebvre told CTV News that the city hopes to provide more information in the coming months about what kind of memorial will replace the Crosses For Change and where it will be located.