Klarides-Ditria: Overdose Awareness Day is a day to remember lives lost

Aug. 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day, a day to remember those we lost to this awful disease, and to acknowledge the grief of the loved ones left behind. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that about 93,000 people died from an overdose in 2020, a nearly 30% increase in deaths compared to 2019. This issue affects everyone of us, our friends and certainly our communities.  In an effort to combat this epidemic, the legislature passed HB 5597, a bill I co-sponsored, to establish a pilot program to expand a peer navigator program - similar to the successful New London Cares project - that requires participating municipalities to send peer navigators out to address the health care and social needs of people with opioid use disorder.  Peer navigators also receive updated training on non-coercive and non-stigmatizing methods for engaging people with the disorder. I also supported HB 6588 to prohibit health care providers from being required to prescribe more than the physician-recommended dose of prescription drugs if deemed clinically inappropriate, reducing the potential for substance misuse or abuse. For more information on Opioids, Overdose Prevention, and Naloxone/Narcan, please visit: https://portal.ct.gov/dph/Health-Education-Management--Surveillance/The-Office-of-Injury-Prevention/Opioids-and-Prescription-Drug-Overdose-Prevention-Program Please join me on Aug. 31 in support of the men and women bravely fighting this disease, and to recognize all those we lost.  Sincerely,

Naugatuck Valley Health District offers disposal pouches for unwanted meds

SEYMOUR - The Naugatuck Valley Health District shared the following post on Monday, International Overdose Awareness Day:

"If you have unused or unwanted medication, please call NVHD at 203-881-3255 x100 to request a free Deterra safe medication disposal pouch be mailed to your house.

"They are easy to use and make it safe to dispose of unwanted pills, liquid and/or medicated patches at home!" 

Drug awareness 5K fundraiser slated Aug. 31 at Shelton Riverwalk

SHELTON - Fight Against Drugs Everywhere will hold its third annual drug awareness 5K run/walk at 6 p.m. Aug. 31 at the Shelton Pavilion & Riverwalk.

Proceeds will benefit BHcare’s Alliance for Prevention and Wellness.

This year’s event is being held on International Overdose Awareness Day.

It will include: a professionally-timed sunset 5K run, kids 1-mile fun run, live music, resource fair, and will conclude with a candlelight remembrance ceremony. 

Names will be read of loved ones lost by overdose. People may submit names the day of the event to be read aloud.

Drug overdose rates have skyrocketed in the United States over the last 15 years. Drug overdoses and drug overdose deaths continue to rise at an alarming rate. 

More than 120 people die every day in the U.S. from an opioid overdose. Both prescription painkillers and heroin are contributing to this phenomenon.  

Last year, Connecticut lost 917 residents from drug overdoses.

FADE 5K run/walk is being held to raise awareness of the opioid epidemic and overdoses, acknowledge and support the grief felt by families and friends who have lost a loved one, provide hope to families who have a loved one struggling with a substance use disorder, and to provide local prevention and treatment resources.

FADE founder Julie Markarian said, “The pain of losing a child to opioid use disorder is a feeling that only people who have been through it can understand, but it is a potential reality that everyone should be aware of. I tragically lost my son, Stephen Medeiros, to a drug overdose five years ago and really wanted to keep his memory alive and help other families not feel shameful or alone when having a family member struggle or die from a substance use disorder.”

Participants who register by Aug. 15 can run/walk in memory of a loved one. 

Register at http://bit.ly/faderunwalk17.

The Alliance for Prevention & Wellness, a program of BHcare, is one of Connecticut’s Regional Action Council, whose mission is to foster positive mental health by preventing substance misuse and other health-risk behaviors, and by building resources that promote wellness. 

For more information, please visit www.APW-CT.org.

This is a press release from The Alliance for Prevention and Wellness.