The Aids Committee of Windsor has launched a new campaign focused on drug awareness and the opioid crisis.
February 20 marks the third national day of action on the opioid crisis.
In the first six months of 2018, 16 people in Windsor-Essex died from opioid-related causes and there were 90 opioid-related emergency room visits.
As a result, the committee is setting up an interactive kiosk to remove the stigma of drug addiction which will be set up around the community to promote a cultural shift.
Aids Committee of Windsor Executive Director, Michael Brennan says people have the wrong image of people who use drugs.
"The community has the strong perception that it is the homeless on the streets of downtown, are the primary users of drugs or women in engaging in sex trade," says Brennan.
He says that's not the case, that it affects a lot of people.
"This is happening right across the socioeconomic spectrum, rich, poor, black, white, it doesn't matter, it is impacting all levels of the community," says Brennan.
The committee says Windsor-Essex has the seventh highest rate of people who use opioids when compared to 49 other regions in Ontario.
Brennan calls this a community-wide issue, not a 'not in my backyard issue'.
"We are really with this campaign, we are trying to challenge the 'us versus them' position in the community that is alienating and permeating these kinds negative attitudes towards people who use substances" he says.
Education workshops will also take place in the fall.