Franklin County marks International Overdose Awareness Day, urges wider access to naloxone and harm-reduction services
August 30, 2024 | Franklin County, Tennessee
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An event marking International Overdose Awareness Day in Franklin County on Aug. 31, 2024 focused on reducing stigma, widening access to overdose reversal medication and promoting prevention and recovery services.
The event host opened by saying International Overdose Awareness Day “is a day of remembrance, reflection, and action,” and cited World Health Organization figures that put global overdose deaths at about 500,000 per year. The host called for education on the signs of overdose and for broader access to Naloxone, noting it “can reverse the opioid overdose.”
Speakers and the proclamation read by Mayor Guest emphasized harm-reduction approaches, listing medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), syringe service programs (SSPs) and mental-health services as tools to reduce overdose deaths. The proclamation text highlighted the role of community-based organizations and county grant programs in improving access to prevention, treatment and recovery resources.
Mayor Guest read the proclamation’s preamble, citing Centers for Disease Control figures that 3,826 Tennesseans died from drug overdose in 2022. The proclamation invited residents to observe International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31, 2024 and recognized September 2024 as National Recovery Month.
Organizers set up a remembrance wall and distributed purple ribbons; attendees were invited to add names or initials of people lost to overdose and to pick up naloxone and drug test strips at resource tables. The event host encouraged amplifying the voices of people in recovery as examples that recovery is possible.
The proclamation and remarks stressed prevention through education, with Mayor Guest urging targeted outreach to school-age children and calling for community willingness to support affected people. The reading concluded with the mayor’s formal proclamation and a call for local observance of the declared dates.
The proclamation was read aloud and no formal vote or other legislative action was recorded at the event.
The event host opened by saying International Overdose Awareness Day “is a day of remembrance, reflection, and action,” and cited World Health Organization figures that put global overdose deaths at about 500,000 per year. The host called for education on the signs of overdose and for broader access to Naloxone, noting it “can reverse the opioid overdose.”
Speakers and the proclamation read by Mayor Guest emphasized harm-reduction approaches, listing medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), syringe service programs (SSPs) and mental-health services as tools to reduce overdose deaths. The proclamation text highlighted the role of community-based organizations and county grant programs in improving access to prevention, treatment and recovery resources.
Mayor Guest read the proclamation’s preamble, citing Centers for Disease Control figures that 3,826 Tennesseans died from drug overdose in 2022. The proclamation invited residents to observe International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31, 2024 and recognized September 2024 as National Recovery Month.
Organizers set up a remembrance wall and distributed purple ribbons; attendees were invited to add names or initials of people lost to overdose and to pick up naloxone and drug test strips at resource tables. The event host encouraged amplifying the voices of people in recovery as examples that recovery is possible.
The proclamation and remarks stressed prevention through education, with Mayor Guest urging targeted outreach to school-age children and calling for community willingness to support affected people. The reading concluded with the mayor’s formal proclamation and a call for local observance of the declared dates.
The proclamation was read aloud and no formal vote or other legislative action was recorded at the event.
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