International Overdose Awareness Day is a global event held on 31 August each year. Its purpose is to raise awareness of overdoses, reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths and acknowledge the grief felt by families and friends.

What can you do? From the National Safety Council

• Hold a candlelight vigil
• Offer an educational program, such as one related to preventing opioid use, in partnership with a local organization
• Provide a safe space for telling the stories of overdose victims
• Offer a large canvas and washable paint so survivors can add a handprint in memory of their loved one
• Display empty hats or shoes to represent the number of lives lost in the community
• Use the NSC Community Action Kit as a planning guide
• Become a Safety Ambassador by hosting a community fundraising event
• Access the NSC Facebook page to get a purple frame (available Aug. 20) for your Facebook profile image
• Share the NSC Facebook Live virtual candlelight vigil on Aug. 30
• Add the name of a loved one who died of an opioid overdose to the Celebrating Lost Loved Ones map
• Purchase or create purple wristbands, pins, shirts or other items and wear them on Aug. 31
• Research state and federal legislation that addresses opioid overdose prevention, and write to your representative
• Support NSC efforts to end the opioid epidemic by making a gift in honor of a loved one