LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Overdose Awareness Day is a global event held on Aug. 31 every year to raise awareness of drug overdoses, to reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths and to acknowledge the grief felt by families and friends as they remember those who have died or have a permanent injury as a result of a drug overdose.
Louisville city leaders recognized the day with a call to action. Mayor Greg Fischer announced ways the city will combat overdoses at Louisville Metro Department of Corrections (LMDC).
"There’s a 50 year old war on drugs which has treated symptoms with criminalization, incarceration and has disproportionately affected people of color," he said.
Jerry Collins, director of LMDC, said several inmates experienced opioid overdoses at metro corrections recently.
The 2021 Drug Overdose Report indicated that 2,250 Kentuckians died from drug overdoses in 2021, a 14.5% increase from the year prior. More than 107,000 overdose deaths were reported in the United States between December 2020 to December 2021.
"We’re trying to put people back into the community better than they were and, more importantly, we’re trying to stop those deaths and stop those overdoses,” Collins said.
Collins and Fischer said their plan includes teaching correction officers how to administer Narcan and installing Narcan cabinets in dorms at the LMDC. There will also be a vending machine with free Narcan in the jail’s lobbies by the end of the year.
As part of the observance, Gov. Andy Beshear directed flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff from sunrise until sunset on Wednesday. Beshear lit the Governor’s Mansion purple in honor of Overdose Awareness Day, too.
Beshear encouraged individuals, businesses and organizations throughout the commonwealth to join in this tribute.
Beginning Sept. 1, National Recovery Month will be observed nationwide.
Beshear said the commonwealth must reduce the stigma around seeking treatment for addiction, so more Kentuckians’ lives will be saved from the devastating, nationwide drug epidemic.
“The road to recovery from addiction is one of the hardest journeys any human may travel," he said. "To those fighting an addiction, please know there is hope and there is help through Kentucky’s many treatment facilities and addiction programs.”
Call the KY Help Call Center at 833-8KY-HELP (833-859-4357) to speak one-on-one with a specialist who can connect Kentuckians to treatment.
For a video from Beshear on available treatment and resources, and the importance of knowing how to respond to an overdose, click here.
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