'A beacon of hope': Art installation debuts at city’s safe consumption site

A lasting symbol of the ongoing opioid crisis glistened in the sunshine Thursday morning on York Street.

A new mosaic wall of tiles, created by those battling addictions and family members supporting them, has been unveiled.

Constructed in two sections, it serves as the entranceway to Carepoint, London's supervised consumption site.

“The mirrors reflecting the light. It’s such a beacon of hope,” shared Kim Martin.

She is a retired doctor who recently returned to London. In 2017, she lost her daughter Delaney, an aspiring nursing aide, to an overdose.

The tile she created features a turtle matching a tattoo on her late daughter's body.

“I choose that because it represents how I imagine Delaney today. Weightless, peaceful, secure in the knowledge that she is enough, forever loved,” Martin told the gathered crowd.

Delaney Martin in seen in this update image. (Supplied)

The wall, a combined project of artist Susan Day, Regional HIV/AIDS Connection, and McIntosh Gallery, is packed with stories.

Some, like Delaney's, symbolize those lost to the crisis, while others reflect current battles with substances.

But the story behind another tile began 30 years ago, on a street in Old East Village.

Back then Hewitt Street was known as Glebe Street, and a fixture on it was a man named Tim McCarthy.

Kim Martin created this tile in memory of her late daughter, Delaney. The tile is part of wall mural serving as an entrance to London, Ont.'s Carepoint safe consumption site. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

“I lived on Glebe Street, and I am a miracle," Tim said to CTV News London.

In the early 1990s, Tim was an addict moving in dangerous circles.

30 years later, his tile brings back the street name the city dropped decades ago amidst its reputation.

For Tim, the work reflects his ongoing recovery, while the broader project offers hope.

“There are new drugs out there, and I just wish that everybody would get better,” he said.

Tim McCarthy and his wife Shirley stand in front of a tile Tim created on Aug. 30, 2023. It reads the name Glebe Street, the former name of Hewitt Street in London, Ont. Tim battled addictions and a dangerous lifestyle when he lived on the street in the 1990s. He is now decades into recovery. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

For some, the first step to getting better is a close call.

Since opening its doors earlier this year, Carepoint has reversed dozens of potential overdoses, according to Megan Van Boheemen, a senior leader at the site.

“We think we’ve reversed 86, so that’s already telling us more people are coming and are feeling more comfortable accessing services,” she explained.

And while it comes too late for Delaney, Kim is ready to volunteer at Carepoint to help others. Part of her pledge is to keep talking in the hope others who have lost loved ones will be able to come forward and say:

Tim McCarthy created this tile, which reads the name Glebe Street, the former name of Hewitt Street in London, Ont. Tim battled addictions and a dangerous lifestyle when he lived on the street in the 1990s. He is now decades into recovery. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

“You know what, my son, my daughter, my brother, myself [struggle], so there is obviously a stigma,” she said.

And for each of them, a wall of their stories — others cannot ignore — now glistens in the sun.

“Let this mosaic stand as a testament to the power of unity, compassion, and action,” concluded Martin McIntosh, the executive director of Regional HIV/AIDS Connection. 

The mosaic wall mural is seen in two sections at the front of the Carepoint safe consumption centre on York Street in London, Ont. on Aug. 30, 2023.