Hazlet Cares: Purple Flag Display in Hazlet Represents 27 Lives Lost to Substance Use Disorder and/or Fentanyl Poisoning in First Quarter of 2024 in Monmouth County.

HAZLET, NJ: If you have driven by Hazlet Police headquarters lately, you may have noticed a display of 27 purple flags out front. Tragically, in the first quarter of the year, between January 1, 2024 and March 31, 2024, Monmouth County lost 27 individuals due to a substance-use overdose and/or fentanyl poisoning.

Hazlet Township, along with multiple other municipalities and businesses, are working together with the Prevention Coalition of Monmouth County to display a purple flag for each of those precious lives lost.

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This display is designed to raise awareness, end the stigma and honor those whose lives have been lost.

Members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Prevention Coalition of Monmouth County annually place purple flags in front of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office in Freehold. Similar displays go up outside municipal buildings throughout the County.  This initiative leads up to International Overdose Awareness Day which is on Aug. 31.Each flag represents one of the 27 people lost to a fatal overdose in Monmouth County during the first quarter of 2024.

“Seeing these flags across the County provides a constant reminder that no one lost to addiction will ever be reduced to a statistic,” the Prosecutor’s Office commented “Each individual was an integral part of their community, with friends and family who loved and cared for them, and we remain committed to honoring their memories by doing everything in our power to ensure those who are seeking recovery, get the help that they need.”

To learn more, you can visit the Prevention Coalition of Monmouth County website .

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If you or someone you know is suffering with substance use disorder, there is a wonderful organization in Hazlet. Learn more about Hazlet's Hope Network here. Hazlet's Hope Network Crisis Hotline is ALWAYS available ​24/7 call 732.739.7717. Also, every Tuesday in Hazlet there is a peer recovery coach from Hazlet's Hope Network available in the courtroom at 255 Middle Road from 10am-12pm.

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