Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Although International Overdose Awareness Day is this Saturday, Aug. 31, Erie County installed their annual display of faces and purple flags this Friday at Old County Hall on Franklin Street to memorialize those who have died from drug overdoses.
"As you look around, you can see the faces of the folks that we have lost to overdose. We want to commemorate them and memorialize them this morning, and you can also see the flags over here that represent the lost lives," said Erie County Office of Harm Reduction Director Stephen White.
"As we acknowledge International Overdose Awareness Day, I ask us not only to remember these individuals, but to advocate for the individuals with substance use disorders, the community of people who use drugs need us to judge less, listen more and to care deeply, to eliminate stigma and to just be compassionate."
Erie County has lost about 270 residents this year through the end of August 2024 to suspected or confirmed drug overdoses.
"This yearly display is one of our most visible and most important events related to harm reduction and the opioid epidemic. We have about 350 memorials set up today, which represent just a fraction of all the overdoses that have occurred in our community," said Dr. Gale Burstein.
"Harm reduction is a core public health work, and we use that approach not just because it's basic humanity to treat people with dignity and preserve their health and safety however we can. We also use harm reduction because it's proven by science and our own experience to be very effective."
Acting Erie County District Attorney Mike Keane made mention of the need for better common sense drug laws in New York State to allow them to better prosecute drug dealers and curb the overdose crisis.
"There's a statute that we are proposing, the DA offices across the state," said DA Keane. "[It's] going to change our ability to prosecute these drug dealers that are selling drugs that contain fentanyl. Will be able to prosecute them for the homicide, for the homicide that they caused, knowing that they sold a drug that contained fentanyl. So we're going to continue to push."
Additional Erie County activities are scheduled for Friday evening at the Northwest Buffalo Community Center at 155 Lawn Ave.: a health fair from 4-6 p.m. ET and a remembrance event with a reading of the names at 6 p.m. ET.
In addition to opening and closing prayers by Pastor Al Robinson, scheduled speakers include U.S. Attorney Trini Ross, NYS Assemblymember Monica Wallace, Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane, Group Ministries Outreach Director Kenneth Gaston, and Community Advocates Vanessa Redwing and Stacy Schwab. Stacy Schwab and Kimberly Shevlin will read the names of people lost to overdoses, and Michael Davidson will ring the bell as those names are read.
County resources including where to get free Narcan is available here
Most Popular
Comments / 0