Grieving Edmonton families launch overdose awareness campaign

Ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31, the group, Moms Stop The Harm, gathered at the site of the billboard.

A group of bereaved families who have lost their loved ones to overdose have launched a billboard campaign in Edmonton to honour them and educate the public about what they call a toxic drug supply crisis.

Ahead of International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31, the group, Moms Stop The Harm, gathered at the site of the billboard.

“It’s important to put a face to the victims,” said Angela Welz from Moms Stop The Harm. “These loved ones are not statistics. They were loved deeply by many, many many people.”

Welz told Global News that a similar billboard campaign has been running for nine years, and it has grown over the years. More than 30 faces are shown in this year’s campaign.

“We continue to lose loved ones on a regular basis,” Welz said.

This is the first time that Karen Cadieux will see her son’s face on a billboard. Forty-two-year-old Stephen Klein died of an overdose in March 2025.  According to the Alberta substance use surveillance system, he was one of 82 people in Edmonton who died by drug poisoning in the city that month.

“Before Stephen passed, I had no idea what was happening out there,” Cadieux said.

Cadiuex thinks her son would be proud of her for speaking out and sharing her story. She believes the focus needs to be on more harm reduction strategies in the province, including things like supervised consumption sites and drug testing.