International Overdose Awareness Day
Hopes to diminish the shame and guilt associated with drug use. That includes all drugs, licit and illicit (and alcohol, too).
Taking its themes as prevention and remembrance, its goals are:
- To provide an opportunity for people to publicly mourn for loved ones, some for the first time, without feeling guilt or shame.
- To include the greatest number of people in Overdose Awareness Day events, and encourage non-denominational involvement.
- To give community members information about the issue of fatal and non fatal overdose.
- To send a strong message to current and former drug users that they are valued.
- To stimulate discussion about overdose prevention and drug policy.
- To provide basic information on the range of support services that exists in the local community.
- To prevent and reduce drug-related harm by supporting evidence-based policy and practice.
- To remind all of the risks of overdose.
Listed below is a selection of events planned for International Overdose Awareness Day 2013. Please visit our event images page for more event ideas.
Australia
New South Wales – Chippendale
Location: Clinic 36
36 Regent St ,
Chippendale NSW 2208
Type of Event: Overdose awareness
Time: 9am
Contact: Nik Shrestha
[email protected]
New South Wales – Newcastle
Location: Newcastle Pharmacotherapy
670 Hunter Street
Newcastle, NSW 2302
Type of Event: Overdose awareness
Time: 10am
Contact: Nik Shrestha
[email protected]
Queensland – Bundaberg
Event Name: YAD Overdose Awareness Bundaberg
Location: Hinkler Central,
16 Maryborough Street,
Bundaberg
Type of Event: Promotion stand at shopping center with brochures on drugs, alcohol, and overdose
Time: 8:30am – 8:00pm
Queensland – Caboolture
Family Matters presentation
Location: Caboolture Commonwealth Respite & Carelink Centre
19 Hayes St Caboolture
Type of Event: seminar for carers and significant others of those with mental illness.
2 speakers, myself, Wilsen drew, Dual Diagnosis coordinator, redcliffe/Caboolture mental health.
and Dom Shelly from family Drug support.
I will distribute info provided and include advice in my presentation regarding overdose mangement
Time: 10:00 to 12:00
Phone: 07-38976222
Tasmania – Hobart
Event Name: Drug Education Network Overdose Awareness
Location: Elizabeth Street Mall, Hobart, Tasmania
Type of Event: Drug Education Network will have a stall set up in Elizabeth Street Mall, from 11am until 2pm to recognise International Overdose Awareness Day. DEN staff will be available to provide resources and information and raise awareness of the issues surrounding overdose particularly in Tasmania. Overdose Day silver badges will be available for those wishing to pay respects to friends and family members lost through overdose.
Time: 11 am till 2 pm
Victoria – Melbourne
Event name: Livingroom’s Overdose Awareness Day Memorial
Location: 7-9 Hosier Lane Melbourne 3000
Type of Event: Memorial Afternoon tea
Time: 1 – 3pm
Phone: 99452100
Victoria – Ballarat
Event Name: Ballarat Community Health International Overdose Awareness Walk
Location: Lake Wendouree BBQ Rotunda across from War Memorial
Type of Event: Walk the Lake
Time: Saturday 31 August, 2pm
Phone: 0409 792 214
Victoria – St Kilda
Event Name: Access Health St Kilda Reflection/Tribute Event
Location: Access Health Primary Health Care Facility.
31 Grey St, St Kilda Vic 3182.
Type of Event: This event will bring together friends and family of those who have suffered overdose. Barbecue lunch will be provided from 12pm – 1pm followed by a short address from Sally Finn (Founder of Overdose Awareness Day) and an opportunity for people to remember loved ones who are no longer here. There will be an opportunity to make a tribute to those who have lost their lives.
Time: Friday 30th August 2013, 12 pm – 2 pm.
Victoria – Nth Melbourne
Event Name: International Overdose Awareness Day North Melbourne.
Location: 179 Flemington Rd,
North Melbourne, Vic 3051.
Type of Event: Education and Information.
Time: 9am-5pm.
Phone: (03) 9329 5100
Victoria – Carnegie
Event name: Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC) reflection event.
Location: SHARC, 140 Grange Rd, Carnegie
Type of event: SHARC wishes to acknowledge the impact overdose has had on both the SHARC community and the wider community in general. International Overdose Awareness Day is observed on August 31.
SHARC invites anyone whose lives have been impacted by the loss of a loved one due to substance use to a reflection opportunity.
A light lunch will be shared. RSVP to (03) 9573 1740
Time 11:30-1:30pm on Friday, August 30th, 2013
Phone: (03) 9573 1740
Contact:
[email protected] by 24/8/2013
Victoria – Ringwood
Eastern Metropolitan Region Remembrance Event
Friday 30th August, 12pm
Location: Ringwood Lake, Maroondah Hwy entry, opp Larissa Ave
Type of Event: This remembrance/memorial event is chance for family and friends to remember those they have lost.
It is also an opportunity for the wider community to come together and commit to raising awareness and reducing stigma about overdose in all forms.
Lunch included.If there is a specific way you think you could be involved contact Beth or Nia on 0430 524 749. We would value any contributions you may have.
Time: 12pm
Phone: 0430 524 7490
Contact: Beth Locke [email protected]
Victoria – Richmond
Overdose Awareness Day Event
Location: North Richmond Community Health
23 Lennox Street, Richmond 3121
The event is free and open to all community members. Attractions include light show projected onto our building, information stalls, live music, sausage sizzle, flame artist, petting zoo and face painting for the kids.
Time: 4:30pm-8:00pm
Phone: 9418 9827
Western Australia, Albany
Event Name: Overdose Information Awareness Week
Location: Palmerston Association
Great Southern Community Drug Service Team,
Unit 3, 145 Proudlove Parade,
Albany 6330.
Type of Event: We will have a display in our office offering relevant information and educational material for the week prior to Overdose Awareness Day.
We also run a Needle Syringe Program and all week we will be placing relevant information with all the equipment given out.
Time: 8.30am to 4.30pm
Western Australia – Wellard
Event Name: International Overdose Awareness Day
Location: 9 Woolcoot RD WELLARD WA, 6170
Type of Event: International Overdose Awareness Day
Phone: (08)94191100
Bahrain
Bahrain – Tubli
Overdose Awareness Day event
Area: Tubli
Venue: NGO Support Centre
Addict Friends Society www.addictfriendssosciety.com
Type of Event: lectures
1) Type of drugs and substances abused.
2) What is overdose?
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30pm
Phone: +973 39991881
Belguim
Belgium – Antwerp
Information en sesibilisation
Location: Needle exchange
Schijnpoortweg 14
B-2060 Antwerp
Belgium, Europe
Type of Event: Information , sensibilisation. Having a dialogue about overdose, preventing risks ….All day with all the attendants of the needle exchange.
Date: Friday 30 August.
Time: 10h-20h
Phone: +32473919267
Canada
Canada – Ottawa
Ottawa Overdose Awareness Day – OD13
Location: Friday August 30th, 2013
Ottawa, Ontario
Human Rights Monument
Elgin St at Lisgar St
11am-12pm
Main event
Parliament Hill at the Centennial Flame
12pm-12:30
Release of OD song- Dragon’s Den by Michael Dalton and Moment of Silence.
Type of Event: We are marking International Overdose Awareness Day on Friday August 30th, 2013 and invite you to join us.
Overdose Awareness Day has been a key remembrance event for those who have died from fatal drug overdoses since 2001. On August 30 thousands of people worldwide will stand alongside the friends and families of fatal overdose victims to reflect on those who have been lost. The event is organised on the understanding that no-one need feel shame or disgrace over a drug overdose. Overdose Awareness Day offers all who have been affected by overdose a chance to publicly mourn and help the wider community understand that fatal overdose profoundly affects mainstream society. The day also serves as a warning that not only illicit drugs can be dangerous and no-one is immune to overdose.
With the number of fatalities from prescription drugs growing August 31 is also a chance to see that medicines are not always our friends. Painkillers and other pharmacy drugs play an important medical role but their careless use can have tragic long-term consequences.
Participation in International Overdose Awareness Day is free. Anyone wishing to be involved may do so. We have 3 keynote speakers, both professionals from Ottawa and people with lived experience. We will be giving away free Overdose Awareness Day t-shirts, pins, buttons and key chains and we will be offering a range of information packages for services offered in Ottawa.
Time: 11am
Phone: 613-569-3488 ext 2101
Edmonton – Alberta
Overdose Awareness Day
Location: City Hall
1 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada T5J 2R7
Type of Event: Candle light service to raise awareness and honor lives lost. Information booths will be present, along with the Medical Officer of Health. Raffle and sales proceeds will go towards Overdose Awareness.
Time: 12:00PM – 1:30PM August 30, 2013
Phone: 780-423-3122 Ext. 210/211
Ontario – London
Event Name: Prevention and Remembrance: Overdose Awareness Day
Location: Campbell Memorial Park, Dundas Street, London, Ontario, Canada
Type of Event: Educational and Reflective. Community agencies will set up tables for information on overdose and prevention, particularly harm reduction and advocacy for naloxone training. There will be a ceremony at 2 pm to acknowledge those who have been lost to, injured, or affected by overdose.
Time: 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Phone: 519.660.0875 ext. 235
Canada – Toronto
Overdose Touches Everyone! Let’s Talk!
Location: 277 Victoria St
Toronto Ontario
M5B 1W2
Type of Event: Open House – Information about overdose awareness and prevention. Drop-in Naloxone training. Activites including art and button making.
Time: 10 am – 4pm
Phone: 416-392-0520
Canada + World Wide Web
Overdose Film + Launch
Location: Canada + World Wide Web
Type of Event: On August 19, the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council will launch our second overdose film, a new website plus a bounty of posters, pamphlets and more. All materials highlight the need for naloxone and efforts to improve 911 call rates.
People are free to use the materials as requested, including print-ready files.
See our previous film here: http://www.preventingcrime.ca/ewo/film.html
See the first Canadian Study on Barriers to calling 9-1-1 During an Overdose Emergency here: http://www.preventingcrime.ca/documents/911Report.pdf
Together- for a safer and healthier community.
Time: tbd
Phone: 519-883-2304
Contact: Michael <[email protected]>
USA
California – Ventura
The Memory Lives On
Location: La Ventana Treatment Center, Ventura
2443 Portola Road #A
Ventura California 93003
Type of Event: World Premiere Community Party
* Unveiling of 40-foot custom Overdose Awareness Mural – 12 cultural icons who died from overdose, including Marilyn Monroe, Amy Winehouse and Cory Monteith – by NIZ, world-famous graffiti artist and La Ventana substance abuse clients
* Tributes & dedications
* Survivor testimony
* Affirmations Wall
for public participation
* Resources from NAMI Ventura (National Alliance for Mental Illness)
* Free Sandwiches & Beverages
Time: 11 am – 1 p.m. PDT
Phone: 415-846-8409
Contact: [email protected]
California – Santa Clarita
ACTION Family Foundation Overdose Awareness
20655 Soledad Cyn. Rd. #24,
Santa Clarita, CA 91351
Type of Event: Candlelight Vigil. An Evening of Rememberence to remember the lives of those gone too soon and to support the loved ones left behind.
Time: 6:00 PM
Phone: 661-904-2249
Utah – Salt Lake City
Utah Overdose Awareness
Location: Utah State Capitol – South Steps, 350 N State St
Type of Event: The evening will begin with speakers, which will progress into a candlelight vigil, with floating chinese lanterns and light refreshments. We will then do an open mic for anyone who wishes to speak.
Time: 7:00 PM
Texas – Flower Mound
Our Lights Remain Bright International Overdose Awareness Day event
Location: Parker Square,
1500 Cross Timbers Road,
Flower Mound, TX 75028
Type of Event: “Our Lights Remain Bright” to celebrate International Overdose Awareness Day. We will be debuting our new Missing Pieces wall panels and providing education, entertainment and a balloon release at the end of the event.
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm Central
Phone: 972-467-7704
Illinois- Carpentersville
Event Name: Gathering for International Overdose Awareness Day
Location: Carpenter Park on Maple Avenue in Carpentersville, Illinois
Gathering will be by the stage at the corner of the park.
Type of Event: On August 31, 2013 We will be gathering together to remember lives lost to overdose without stigma or judgment. So make a poster with your loved ones photo or bring a photo of them. You do not need to grieve alone. There will be a couple of speakers sharing their stories as well as speaking about Overdose Prevention.As well as a little surprise.
An Overdose Memorial quilt will be on display with 100 names of lives lost in Illinois reminding us that 100 lives are lost daily in the United States. We will be reading each name on the quilt
before we launch balloons in the air for our loved ones gone too soon. Feel free to bring your own chair, a sharpie to write on your balloon and a non alcoholic beverage.There will be nothing for sale at this event and there is no entry fee.
Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 noon
Phone: 847.428.4497
Illinois- Mt Zion
Event Name: International Overdose Awareness Day Ceremony
Location: Fletcher Park in Mt. Zion, Illinois, 300 S. Henderson (next to the Intermediate School).
Type of Event: At 8am we will start the day with a walk/5K run. 1st, 2nd & 3rd place will receive trophies. We will have post race food, beverages and door prizes. At 10am we will start our Overdose Awareness Ceremony. We will be talking about awareness, prevention and how to reduce the negative stigma that follows a drug overdose death. We will have many guest speakers: Macon County States Attorney, Macon County Coroner, Macon County Sheriff’s Office, Decatur Police Department, Mt. Zion Police Department, Drug Counselors from Gateway Center, Heritage Behavioral Health Center and people who are working a in recovery program. We will have a moment of silence, read the names of those who have lost their lives from an overdose. We will end with a balloon release.
Time: Walk/5K 8:00 am Event starts at 10:00 am
Illinois – Mundelein
Event Name: Remembrance, Prevention, and Recovery Event
Location: New Hope Christian Church
1401 S. Lake Street
Mundelein, L 60060
New Hope Christian Church and The Family of Gabriel Franco will be hosting an event for Remembrance, Prevention, and Recovery
We will have Village Officials to discuss Prevention
Counselors to speak about Recovery and Testimonials from individuals to support Recovery. We would like to put together a slide show to honor all the loved ones that have been lost to Addiction. Please Email picture with full name and information you would like to share to Francisco Franco (
[email protected])
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Phone: 847-566-6581
Illinois – Ottawa
Event Name: Overdose Awareness and Memory Walk 2013
Location: The walk is being held in Ottawa IL
Start of walk is in Washington Park and ending the walk in Allen Park.
Type of Event: The event is to bring Overdose Awareness to the community and to Remember the loved ones loved, lost and still struggling from addictive illness!
There will be a short ceremony with speakers and a balloon release after the walk!
Time: 10:00 am
Phone: 815-993-8314
Contact: Lori Brown [email protected]
Illinois – Genoa
Event name: Overdose and Awareness Day Candle Vigil Ceremony
Location: Main Street, Genoa, Illinois, 60135
Type of Event: Candle vigil ceremony with guest speakers
August 31, 2013
6:00 pm – 9:00 PM.
We, The City of Genoa, Ill, cordially invite you to the Overdose Awareness and Prevention Day Ceremony August 31, 2013 where by this day has been Designated and Declared in Illinois by Governor Pat Quinn.
Overdose Awareness Day offers all who have been affected by overdose a chance to help the community understand that fatal overdose is an issue that affects mainstream society and does not discriminate. The day also serves as a warning that illicit drugs are dangerous and no one is immune to overdose. Painkillers and other pharmaceutical drugs play an important medical role in our lives however; research shows that their careless use can have tragic long-term consequences. With the fatalities from prescription drugs and heroin use growing to epidemic proportions, this subject needs to be addressed immediately. Our aim is to give preventive information about the issues of fatal and non fatal overdose from professional educators and non profit organizations and provide information on the range of support services that exist in our local communities.
Guest Speaker: Dr. Andrea Grubb Barthwell, M.D., F.A.S.A.M., is the founder and Medical Director of Encounter Medical Group, PC and Director at Two Dreams Outer Banks Treatment Center with programs in Illinois.
Dr. Barthwell also served as a member of the White House Task Force on Disadvantaged Youth and the White House Domestic Violence Working Group. In 2003, Dr. Barthwell received the Betty Ford Award, given by the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse.
Featuring: Live Music by TOW A Christian Contemporary Band from GenoaAnyone wishing to be involved may do so. Let us together light a candle of hope for tomorrow and bring awareness and come together in order to prevent another loss due to this ever rising epidemic called addiction. Please feel free to bring a photo of your loved one.
Phone: 630-618-8699
Contact: Deborah Bockstahler [email protected]
Illinois – Rockford
Memorial Service for those who have lost their life to Drug Overdoses in Winnebago Co. Illinois. Location: Rockford YMCA Log Lodge
200 Y Boulevard
Rockford, Illinois 61107
A time to share support and remember our loved ones. We will be having a flower release in the nearby Rock River.
Date: Sat August 31, 2013
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Contact: Bonnie Falzone-Capriola 815-505-8085
Illinois – Wauconda
Wauconda’s Overdose Awareness Vigil
Location: Memorial Park
309 S. Main Street
(SW Corner of Main & Liberty, 176)
Wauconda, Illinois 60084
There is no parking in front of the park. Parking is located in the Municipal parking lot at Mill & Maple Sts. (free). There is street parking on Main, Maple & Mill Streets.
Type of Event: This event is open to all affected by addiction and overdose. This is a place without judgement, to mourn, to celebrate recovery, and to connect with others dealing with this dreaded disease. During a candlelit vigil there will be a reading of names of those lost to addiction and overdose. We will also have speakers, a bagpiper, and time for families to connect. Please email me your loved one’s name and/or pictures. I will carry him/her with me. Contact me via email, Facebook, or phone.
Time: Sunday, August 25th, 2013 6pm – 7:30pm
Phone: 847/636-7162
Massachusetts – Gloucester
Gloucester 3rd Annual Overdose Vigil
Location: Gloucester Massachusetts
Flag Pole at the Cut Bridge, Stacy Boulevard.
Facebook: Gloucester Annual Overdose Vigil Type of Event: 3rd Annual Overdose Vigil Join us for a night of healing to remember those we have lost to overdose and support those left behind.
Speakers, Creation of Luminaries, Reading of Names, Music, Memorial table
Time: 7-9 pm
Phone: 781-258-8948
New Jersey – Sparta
Overdose Awareness Day
Location: Station Park
Route 517
Sparta NJ 07871
Type of Event: To remember the people who have lost their lives to the disease of addiction.
To bring attention to the growing, pandemic drug problem in the county. To bring hope, and healing to those suffering from the effects of addiction. To celebrate the lives of those who are in recovery.
Time: 10am-12pm
Phone: 973-729-3402
North Carolina – Asheville
Location: Firestorm Cafe
48 Commerce St, Asheville, NC 28801
Type of Event: Event will consist of a screening of the short documentary about drug overdose called “Reach for Me,” a brief overview of the epidemic, and a candle-light vigil with opportunities for attendees to remember their loved ones aloud.
Time: 7:30pm-9pm
Phone: 336-543-8050
North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Location: Community Church of Chapel Hill
106 Purefoy Rd, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Type of Event: Event will consist of a screening of the short documentary about drug overdose called “Reach for Me,” a brief overview of the epidemic, and a candle-light vigil with opportunities for attendees to remember their loved ones aloud. We will also provide naloxone at this event.
Time: 7pm-9pm
Phone: 919-809-7718
North Carolina – Franklin
Location: Full Circle Recovery Center, LLC
591 West Palmer Street, Franklin, NC 28734
Type of Event: Event will consist of a screening of the short documentary about drug overdose called “Reach for Me,” a brief overview of the epidemic, and a candle-light vigil with opportunities for attendees to remember their loved ones aloud.
Time: 7pm-8:30pm
Phone: 336-543-8050
North Carolina - Greensboro
Location: Greensboro Arboretum
401 Ashland Dr, Greensboro, NC 27403
Type of Event: Event will consist of a brief overview of the epidemic, and a candle-light vigil with opportunities for attendees to remember their loved ones aloud.
Time: 6:30pm-7:30pm
Phone: 336-543-8050
North Carolina – Hickory
Location: Grace House Day Shelter
102 1st Ave NE. Hickory NC 28601
Type of Event: Event will consist of a screening of the short documentary about drug overdose called “Reach for Me,” a brief overview of the epidemic, and a candle-light vigil with opportunities for attendees to remember their loved ones aloud.
Time: 1:00pm– 2:00pm
Phone: 336-543-8050
Ohio – Mansfield
International Overdose Awareness Day Memorial
Location: First Alliance Church
291 W Cook Rd
Mansfield Ohio 44907
Type of Event: Candle Lighting
Time: 7 PM
Phone: 419-512-8158
San Fransisco
Overdose Awareness Day Memorial March and Celebration of Life
Location: 149 Turk St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
Type of Event: We will be marching through the streets of San Francisco, from the Tenderloin to the Mission in remembrance, honor and celebration of the friends and family we have lost to overdose. All are welcome. Meet at 149 Turk Street at the SFDUU to start the march, and we will end in Clarion Alley, in the Mission.
Time: 4:00 pm
Phone: 510-444-6969 ext. 16
Wisconsin – West Bend
Stop Heroin Rally #3
Location: Main Street near Paradise Road in West Bend, WI
Time: August 24, 2013 — 10am-Noon
Phone: 262-208-4776
Type of Event: Join us Saturday, August 24 anytime between 10am and noon in West Bend to help educate, inform and show support for those affected by this horrible addiction. The exact location will be determined, but it will be somewhere along Main Street starting near Paradise. Please help spread the word, invite others and then come out with a sign and a voice!
To learn more about what the Stop Heroin Rally is, see the pictures on the Project Second Start Facebook page from the past rallies in October 2012 in West Bend and April 2013 in Germantown.
United Kingdom
London – Brixton
Location: Lorraine Hewitt House
12/14 Brighton House
Brixton
SW9 8DG
In the morning we will have an information stall on the ground floor at LHH with information on all types of overdose but primarily opiate overdose. We will provide lots of nice food for everyone. It will be run by people who use drugs for people who use drugs and we hope to empower each other.
In the afternoon we will be running overdose awareness and take-home naloxone training with attendees getting a take-home naloxone kit and £10 cash expenses for their time. The training will also be run by people who use drugs. We did this last year and it was a big success and we are hoping to go bigger this year.The training session will be limited to 12 people, all opiate injectors. Last year we spoke to over 100 people about International Overdose Awareness Day at LHH and we expect much more this time around.
Time: All Day on the 30th of August
Phone: 0207 7370099
Martin McCusker
London – Canning Town
Awareness & Remembrance – International Overdose Awareness Day
Location: Anchor House
81 Barking Road
Canning Town
London
E16 4HB
Type of Event: Anyone can be affected by overdose – this is an awareness and remembrance day for all the community. Join us at the Recovery Hub, Anchor House for a conversation around overdose with films,workshops and practical sessions.
Time: 2-4pm
Phone: 02074766062
London – Gateshead
Location: Gateshead Civic Centre and NEEDLEEXCHANGE
Type of Event: information and awarness event for general public, carers and clients who attend needle exchange
Time: all week at Civic centre starting friday 31st and all month in needleexchange
Phone: 0191 490 1709
