Opioid anthology project in the works in Sault Ste. Marie

Opioid Anthology Project in the works in the Sault Author Mike Sauve is working with the Sault Ste. Marie Museum on the project aimed at putting a human face on the opioid crisis.

Sault Ste. Marie born author Mike Sauve is hoping to show the impact of the opioid crisis through a more human lens – rather than through numbers and stats.

He's working with the Sault Ste. Marie Museum on what's being referred to as the ‘Opioid Anthology Project.’ It began when Sauve was working on another project.

"I was researching the Great Depression in Sault Ste. Marie, and all I could find were these sort of economic pamphlets about the economic realities and there was very sparse human detail," Sauve said.

Rather than allow the human experience to go undocumented, Sauve and the Sault Museum set out to find a way to tell the story of the opioid crisis in a way that will reach people on a personal level.

"Without those first-person connections, we're not capturing the whole picture," said museum curator William Hollingshead.

The project will take the form of a book and an exhibit at the museum focused on the personal stories of people touched by the opioid crisis. It comes at a time when the overdose crisis shows no sign of slowing down.

"So far this year, Algoma has experienced 41 drug-related deaths, which averages five people per month," said Hilary Cutler, manager of community wellness at Algoma Public Health.

"This compares to at the same time last year 37 deaths."

Cutler said public health continues to work with its community partners to provide Naloxone kits to businesses and agencies, as well as ongoing surveillance of opioid-related incidents in the Algoma region.

Meantime, planning for the Opioid Anthology Project is in its early stages, and organizers anticipate it will be a multi-year project. They are actively looking for people to share their stories of addiction.