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Opioid overdoses in Massachusetts claimed 2,125 lives in 2023. Parents. Children. Friends. Partners. Neighbors. Colleagues. Loved ones.
How do we navigate the loss? The grief? The stigma? How do we support family and friends left behind? How do we help people with substance use disorder stay safe? How do we support people with substance use disorder recover and take back their lives? By coming together, collectively, as a community, to acknowledge, to support, to grieve, to educate, to take action, and to find hope. Acknowledging International Overdose Awareness Day is a way to find hope by joining others in the fight to end overdose and eradicate stigma.
International Overdose Awareness Day, held each year on August 31st, is the world’s largest campaign to end overdose, remember without stigma those lost, acknowledge the grief of those left behind, and to offer information about preventing overdose. Started in Melbourne Australia in 2001, and supported by Australian non-profit Pennington Institute since 2012, events are held around the globe. Our collective voices are stronger, louder, and most impactful when brought together. Building on that sentiment, this year’s theme is “Together, we can”.
Middleton will acknowledge the lives lost by placing 2,125 purple flags on the lawn of the Flint Library and Richardson Green. People are encouraged to write messages on the flags sharing: memories of a loved one lost to overdose, a wish to end the pervasive stigma around substance use disorder, or a message of support. For the month of August, flags will be available for messaging at Middleton’s Health Department, Fire Department and Flint Library. Flags will be placed on August 28th between 3:30 - 5:30PM (volunteer to help here), and a gathering will be held at 6PM. Flags will remain until September 4th.
Middleton’s Opioid Abatement Settlement Round Table (OASRT), led by Public Health Director Traci Mello, is planning the August 28th event. Traci shared how Middleton town employees will show their support and raise awareness. “Collectively, the employees of Middleton will wear purple t-shirts on August 28th, to show solidarity for lives lost to Opioid overdose. We will continue to work together to support the effort of change and promote awareness of this disease.”
Carolyn MacPherson, a Middleton resident and substance use and infectious diseases researcher, highlights the impact hosting events like International Overdose Awareness Day can have: “People who use drugs experience stigma and mistreatment in all facets of society, teaching them time and again that they are unworthy of kindness, love, and life. That pervasive stigma is a barrier to harm reduction and treatment leading to very preventable deaths. Through visibility events like this, where we openly honor those we have lost and share in our neighbors’ grief, we have the opportunity to interrupt the cycle of stigma and shame. It gives us each the chance to become beacons of kindness, understanding, and hope for people who use drugs and their families.”
Advocate and OASRT member Stephen Jesi, who lost his daughter Stephenie in 2015, reflected the importance of acknowledging International Overdose Awareness day and the lives lost. ”Despite all the efforts and advances in the disease of addiction, the overdose deaths don’t seem to be diminishing since my daughter’s death back in 2015. Every death has a huge impact on a family. Yet 2,125 individuals lost their lives in Massachusetts last year. That’s equivalent to a major airliner crashing at Logan Airport every month. God forbid that should happen I’m sure that would get lots of attention.”
The OASRT formed in early 2023 and is comprised of people representing the town, public health, prevention, recovery, research and medical communities, along with people with lived experience of suffering from, or losing someone with, substance use disorder. The Round Table, tasked with applying Middleton’s annual portion of the funds garnered “from a $26 billion from legal settlement from the opioid distributors and drug maker Johnson & Johnson,” (The Boston Globe, February 12, 2024) focuses on applying the town’s funds toward opioid use disorder treatment and recovery, prevention education, harm reduction, and connections to care. Recently, the committee purchased and placed opioid overdose rescue boxes (SAMBOX),containing doses of the lifesaving opioid reversal medication Narcan, and other supplies one might need when responding to an overdose, in several locations in Middleton.
All are welcome to join in the event on August 28th on the lawn of the Flint Library at 1 South Main St. in Middleton. Narcan will be available for free.
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