Recover Fall River hosting memorial with resources, education, remembrance, to mark International Overdose Awareness Day

Recover Fall River will be hosting a memorial on August 31st, outside of Fall River City Hall to close Overdose Awareness month.

International Overdose Awareness Day is a global event held on 31 August each year and aims to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma of a drug-related death. It also acknowledges the grief felt by families and friends remembering those who have died or had a permanent injury as a result of drug overdose.

This year once again, the community will gather to memorialize lost lives and to share hope for those still struggling.

Posters of local residents who have lost their battle with addiction will be displayed on the hill outside of Fall River City Hall beginning at 4:30 p.m. Resources will be available from 4:30-6:30 p.m., including Narcan, an effective medication used to reverse overdoses. At 6:30 p.m., a dove release will take place to begin the memorial service. There will also be live music.

As in past years, a memorial video will be produced, consisting of photographs submitted by family members of the hundreds of local lives lost. The evening will conclude with a candlelight procession from City Hall to Saint Anne’s Church.