Marianne LaBarge City Councilor | Ward 6 | Northampton, MA

WARD 6

         CITY COUNCILOR

MARIANNE LABARGE
Text Box: For Immediate Release: August 26, 2024 Contact: Merridith O’Leary, Health Commissioner City of Northampton Department of Health and Human Services moleary@northamptonma.gov or 413-587-1215 City to Recognize International Overdose Awareness Day at Forbes Library Northampton– An event and candlelight vigil to recognize and honor the lives of those lost to overdose will be held at Forbes Library in Northampton from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 29th in commemoration of International Overdose Awareness Day. The City sponsored program is being organized by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), as well as a group of regional partner organizations. The event will begin at 6:00 p.m. with resource tabling, Narcan training and distribution and community networking. At 7:00 p.m the formal program will commence, featuring speakers affected by the opioid crisis including the families and friends of those grieving the loss of a loved one, as well as people working in the field who also experience loss. The night will conclude with a luminaria memorial. Other partnering organizations include Tapestry Health, the Northampton Recovery Center, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, Learn to Cope West, SADOD, Manna Community Kitchen and other DHHS programs including the Drug Addiction Recovery Team (DART), Hampshire HOPE, and the Division of Community Care. This year’s theme, “Together We Can,” inspires us to think of the collective power we are capable of when we all stand and work together. Speakers will not only share their own lived experiences, but will highlight policy changes we can advocate for together. International Overdose Awareness Day has been marked in communities worldwide since 2001 with events held during the last week of August with the goal of reducing stigma, increasing awareness of the prevalence of overdose deaths, and supporting those struggling with the disease. For more information, contact Taylor McAndrew, Director of Prevention with the City of Northampton Department of Health and Human Services at (413) 587-1322; tmcandrew@northamptonma.gov. More information about Hampshire HOPE can be found at http://www.hampshirehope.org