Local event planned for ‘International Overdose Awareness Day’
Posted Aug 31, 2016 05:15:48 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Wednesday is International Overdose Awareness Day and for the first time, local groups are coming together to raise awareness, and educate the community about the symptoms of an overdose to mark the day.
From 10:45 am – 2:30 pm, Waterloo Region’s own Overdose Awareness Day event will be held at Kitchener City Hall.
As well as educating the public, community groups want to highlight the importance of reducing stigma associated with a drug-related death.
A memorial activity, displays, overdose prevention training, and Naloxone distribution will take place at the event.
Guest speakers include Police Chief Bryan Larkin, Don Roth, Chair of the Waterloo Region Integrated Drugs Strategy Steering Committee, and Christine Padaric – Woolwich resident, advocate, and a mother of a son who passed away from an accidental overdose.
In a release, Padaric says, “This day presents an opportunity to help the wider community understand that drug overdose is a social issue. Fatal and non-fatal overdoses affect all members of society. Knowing the real facts about drugs and what to do when you see someone experiencing an overdose does save lives.”
