Of the more than 72,000 preventable drug overdoses in the country in 2017, more than 47,000 involved opioids. International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) is a global event held Aug. 31 each year to remember those gone too soon from overdose deaths.
What can you do?
- Encourage your workplace to participate in IOAD observance activities
- Hold a candlelight vigil
- Offer an educational program, such as one related to preventing opioid use, in partnership with a local organization
- Provide a safe space for telling the stories of overdose victims
- Offer a large canvas and washable paint so survivors can add a handprint in memory of their loved one
- Display empty hats or shoes to represent the number of lives lost in the community
- Become a Safety Ambassador by hosting a community fundraising event
- Add the name of a loved one who died of an opioid overdose to the Celebrating Lost Loved Ones map
- Purchase or create purple wristbands, pins, shirts or other items and wear them on Aug. 31
- Research state and federal legislation that addresses opioid overdose prevention, and write to your representative
- Support NSC efforts to end the opioid epidemic by making a gift in honor of a loved one
- Find additional resources at overdoseday.com
