Overdose Awareness Event Set for August 31 at St. Mark’s Church in Easton

International Overdose Awareness Day, which takes place each year on August 31, is committed to providing a platform to acknowledge the grief felt by families and friends who have lost a loved one to overdose. The purpose is to raise awareness that the tragedy of overdose death is preventable and to share information with people of all ages and walks of life that will help save lives.

Lynne Ewing, of Talbot Partnership, and Valerie Albee, of Mariah’s Mission Fund, met with Recovery for Shore members recently to provide an update on plans for the August 31 Overdose Awareness Day at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Easton. So far, 18 community organizations have signed on to participate in the event.

A local observation of International Overdose Awareness Day is set for Wednesday, August 31, 6-8 p.m. at St. Mark’s Methodist Church on Peach Blossom Road in Easton. Sponsored by Mariah’s Mission Fund of the Mid Shore Community Foundation and Talbot Partnership for the Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, this free event will feature a host of community organizations whose representatives will be on hand to educate community members about the increasing incidence of drug overdose and death in our region; mental health and substance abuse disorders; and prevention, support (including family and grief support) and treatment resources available in our community. Refreshments will be available.

A special feature of the event at St. Mark’s is a Remembrance, led by Valerie Albee, founder of Mariah’s Mission Fund, which begins at 7:30 p.m. As part of the Remembrance, visitors to the event are invited to bring photographs, cards and other items to commemorate loved ones lost to overdose.

For more information, contact Jayne Fitzgerald, 410-819-8067, [email protected] or visit https://www.mariahsmissionfund.org/events.html . To learn more about International Overdose Awareness Day, visit https://www.overdoseday.com/ .

What do you know about Overdose?

• In Maryland between 2014 and 2015, the number of heroin-related deaths increased by 29 percent (from 578 to 748), the number of fentanyl-related deaths nearly doubled (from 186 to 340 – but a 12-fold increase since 2012), and the number of prescription-opioid related deaths increased by 6 percent (from 330 to 351). The number of deaths caused by fentanyl has increased 12-fold since 2012.
• More people died from drug overdoses in 2014 than in any other year on record.
• Deaths from drug overdose are up among both men and women of all races, and among adults of nearly all ages.
• More than three out of five drug overdose deaths involve an opioid. Overdose deaths from opioids, including prescription opioids and heroin, have nearly quadrupled since 1999.
• Overdoses involving opioids killed more than 28,000 people in 2014. Over half of those deaths were from prescription opioids.
• During 2014, a total of 47,055 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States –14.7 per 100,000 persons; in Maryland in 2015, there were 1,259 overdose deaths occurred in Maryland in 2015 — nearly double since 2010.