Crosses for Change in Sudbury will be replaced with permanent monument

The sea of crosses that makes up Sudbury's monument to the victims of the opioid crisis will soon have a new home.

On Thursday not far from city hall in Sudbury, our CTV News camera captured a man honouring his friend and several others who have died from overdoses.

He didn’t want to talk on camera, but said he also reflects on his own drug use while visiting the crosses that have been set up to remember those who have died because of the opioid crisis.

The founder of Crosses For Change, Denise Sandul, started the initiative in 2020 after losing her son to an overdose.

“I started this six weeks after my son Myles passed away in 2020 and I was reflecting on the fact that no one seemed to care that these lives were being lost,” said Sandul.

She said there are currently 267 crosses at the corner of Brady and Paris streets, with requests for more.

“They are no longer shiny white -- they are deteriorating,” Sandul said.

“This was my plan all along -- it wasn’t meant to be a permanent monument.”

Thursday morning at Tom Davies Square, Sandul and Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre announced Crosses For Change will move to Carleton Park downtown at the corner of Paris and Cedar streets.

The city-owned land will be used to create a permanent monument sometime in 2026.

“We want to make sure for the generations to come (that) people never forget the opioid poisoning crisis that we are facing today,” Lefebvre said.

“We want to make sure that people will remember that certainly for the next generations.”

“It will be a pleasant piece of artwork and then when you get closer to the monument, you will see … that it represents all these lives lost due to the toxic drugs,” said Sandul.

Sandul said she hopes the permanent monument will help unite people in grief and highlight education and awareness about the opioid crisis.