As many as 10,600 people died of an unintentional drug overdose in Connecticut in the last decade. That’s 10,600 families in grief, learning to heal one day at a time.
Dad, sister, friend — they all gathered at Northwest Park in Manchester under the evening sky, united by loss. And they sat together to watch a documentary called “Speaking Grief.”
Henry Dekker of South Windsor was among them. His son, also Henry, died of a drug overdose four years ago.
“Sometimes you, with your grief, you don't want to be around other people that are grieving the way you are,” Dekker said. “But then other times you need to be with this club that dues are extremely high to belong to.”
He said he chose to attend this particular gathering held by the Change Collaborative of Manchester because his son used to live in Manchester.
“Part of the other reason I’m here, too, is to gather information on how to help prevent somebody else from overdosing or to give advice to somebody’s parents,” he said. “Because we can’t do anything about our children now, but maybe we can do something to help somebody else from going through what we go through.”
The Collaborative gave away books on grief and healing, memory stores, and coloring art to take home.
“Tonight we’re here to remember the loved ones that we’ve lost to overdose,” said Samantha Bell, chair of Change Collaborative.” And we’re trying to remove the stigma that sometimes comes along with losing a loved one to overdose. You know, it is a mental illness, it is not somebody’s choice. And we’re just here to support the families and the loved ones left behind.”
According to a 2020 analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Connecticut's per capita rate of overdose deaths was higher than the national average.