Her son died of drug toxicity 5 years ago. Every year since, she's honoured his memory with a purple chair
CBC
Every August for the past five years, Janice Laplante has been placing a purple chair on her porch.
Laplante, who lives in Kamloops, B.C., painted the chair in 2019 as a way to remember the leadup to International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31, a day that holds special significance for her since she lost her son, Alexander. The idea came from a tabletop sculpture she saw once, honouring the memory of someone who had passed away.
Alexander was born on June 29, 1993, and grew up in Kamloops. He died age 25 in February 2019 in Grand Prairie, Alta., due to opioid toxicity.
Before his death, he participated in a three-month addictions recovery program by the non-profit Freedom's Door in Kelowna.
Since the provincial government declared drug overdose deaths a public health emergency in April 2016, over 11,000 British Columbians have lost their lives due to illicit drug toxicity.
Laplante spoke to host Shelley Joyce on CBC's Daybreak Kamloops about the purple chair, her memories of Alexander, and raising awareness on the issue of drug overdoses.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Will you tell me about your purple wooden chair?
I have to do a little bit of touchup and I want to go get some purple flowers as well, but I do have a nice little porch out front that it's going to sit on this year. It symbolizes overdose awareness, which is observed this month.
What do you want your neighbours, the people who drive by or walk by your house on the street to know about you?
I'm very outgoing when talking, so my neighbours pretty much know my story. I'm not sure they understand about the purple chair, but if they ask, I'll tell them.
What I would like them to know is that our family had an incredibly huge loss in February of 2019 of my son. It's affected a lot of people, not just us but also our friends, our extended family, our family. And it can happen to anyone.
My boys had a beautiful upbringing. My husband and I did divorce, but I'd say we're best friends. We really get along well. He's a wonderful man and we've done lots of things together, so the purple chair is just a symbol of my door being open.
Tell me about your son, Alexander.