Event Date: August 31st 2025
Posted on: October 14 2026
On August 31st, 2025, we (SOPEN - Substance Overdose Prevention and Education Network) created an outdoor living room for International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD). The idea of the outdoor living room was inspired by the concept and art of the Wind Phone:
A Wind Phone is an unconnected telephone installed in a public space for people to speak to lost loved ones, offering a way to express grief and unsaid emotions to the wind.
Created in Japan in 2010 by garden designer Itaru Sasaki after a personal loss, the concept of the "Telephone of the Wind" spread globally, particularly after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.
The phone itself is not connected to any network, but the act of speaking into it provides a sense of emotional connection and a means of coping with grief.
The image to the left is the invitation we sent out to community ahead of time, posted on the SOPEN socials and had posted at the IOAD event.
We wanted to create a space where the Wind Phone could live - where did many landlines live? Living rooms. The title of a living room felt interesting to play with because of the contrast of, in this particular scenario, the goal of spending time with those that are no longer living or no longer in our lives. And so, we created an interactive art installation, an outdoor Living(Grief) Room, at Gore Park in Hamilton, ON, for folks attending IOAD to spend some time remembering, speaking to or talking about their loved ones who are no longer physically with them. People were invited to decorate, deface, add to and be part of the art installation - this could entail, but was not limited to, drawing and writing memories, prayers, names of loved ones on living room objects, leaving pictures or momentos behind, making a mess, and tying and weaving things to the space.
This space became a container where beautiful memories were held, shared and witnessed.
Afterwards, we brought the Living(Grief) Room to live at The Hub to continue holding people through their grief.
The image to the right is the Living(Grief) room set up at The Hub after the IOAD event.
A special shoutout to the SOPEN team, I am so grateful to know and get to work with so many amazing humans who care so deeply about our community. It really is like a family, and I am so appreciative for the opportunities, gifts and connections. If you’d like to volunteer with SOPEN (which, I highly recommend), please do so HERE. If you would like to donate to support the work that we do, please do so HERE.
I’d like to also give a special shoutout to Stewart Cameron - Steel City Stew on socials. Sadly, Stew passed away this year (2026), and he is loved and missed by so many. Stew was a major help in the set up, take down and running of this project on IOAD; I don’t think he even recognized how much easier he made my life on that day, but I immediately recognized it and never forgot. Stew was a huge cheerleader for people doing cool, exciting and community-oriented things, he had a massive heart, and he was the embodiment of a deep belly-laugh and big bear hug. Stewart was a big supporter of Liberty for Youth - if you have the resources and would like to donate in celebration of his life, I’ll invite you to donate to Liberty for Youth HERE.
