Health & Fitness
Somerville Leaders Call For Statewide Overdose Awareness Day
City and state officials are asking Gov. Baker to lower flags to half-staff Aug. 31 to remember the lives lost to substance use disorder.
SOMERVILLE, MA — City and state officials from Somerville are calling on Gov. Charlie Baker to establish an Overdose Awareness Day Aug. 31. The date is already recognized internationally as a day of remembrance of the lives lost to substance use disorder.
The letter was organized by state Rep. Christine Barber in honor of Anthony Bohan, a Somerville resident who passed away following a 10-year battle with substance use disorder.
"In Massachusetts, there were over 2,000 confirmed opioid-related overdose deaths in 2020 alone – and the latest national numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest an acceleration of overdose deaths during the coronavirus pandemic," the letter states in part.
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The letter asks Baker to lower all flags on state buildings to half-staff on Aug. 31. Read the full letter below:
In honor of a constituent, I organized a letter with #Somerville officials requesting Gov Baker acknowledge August 31, 2021 as International #OverdoseAwarenessDay & flags be flown at half-staff for lives lost to substance use disorder. pic.twitter.com/KcMIGCZtmn
— Christine Barber (@Barber4StateRep) August 23, 2021
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