ashley pocrnich – rain sprite

I was invited to join the Overdose Memorial Project by Dr. Aaron Goodman in October of 2021. The main focus of the project when it started was telling the stories of people who have lost loved ones to the toxic drug crisis, many of whom were vulnerable people themselves.

I facilitated interviews between dozens of participants, hearing their stories of struggle and grief.

With the proper consent of the participants involved, I edited the audio of many of the interviews which were then used in episodes of the podcast series Unsilencing Stories. I created the logo and Spotify banner of the project which are still in use today.

In this role I also conducted research on the extent and effects of the Toxic Drug Crisis in Canada, wrote summaries based on my research, and collaborated with the other members of the project on a now-published paper.

The results of our work can be read in the published article “Unsilencing Stories: Creating a Counter-Memorial Podcast with Bereaved People Affected by Canada’s Opioid Overdose Crisis.”

Before conducting this research, I completed the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans – Course on Research Ethics.

My involvement in the project was one of the most challenging and rewarding journeys of my life, and I will never forget what I learned from the participants in the project. I am happy to see that the podcast has continued, now telling the stories of harm reductions workers, some of whom I collaborated with in the earlier iteration of the project.