Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the death of 14-year-old Zion Williams-Farrell.
The Kitchener teenager was found dead in his room overdosing on fentanyl-laced Xanax.
In Waterloo Region, opioid deaths are occurring most often in suburbs, not on the streets or in shelters.
Last year, there were seven fatal overdoses in Kitchener, five in Cambridge and one in Waterloo. The total number is down compared to the same time last year, but police say that more naloxone kits have been used to save lives.
For law enforcement, the growing concern in the region is carfentanil, which is 100 times more potent than fentanyl.
The family of Williams-Ferrell walked through McLennan Park in Kitchener in his memory on Wednesday. His mother Jaimie is in talks with the city to place a commemorative feature in the park for her son.
