Overdose Awareness Day Will Recall 104 Deaths In Chester County

WEST CHESTER, PA — Chester County will participate in International Overdose Awareness Day to show its commitment to tackling the opioid and heroin epidemic, the County’s Department of Drug and Alcohol Services said today.

Monday, Aug. 31, is recognized as International Overdose Awareness Day. Chester County will join communities around the world in encouraging residents, businesses and organizations to raise awareness of overdose. The designated effort hopes to reduce the stigma surrounding overdoses and drug related deaths. The Day's events will remember the lives lost to overdose and acknowledge the grief felt by families and friends who have lost a loved one.

"Again this year, we join communities across the country to remember the lives lost to, and those still battling substance use disorders," said Vince Brown, Executive Director of the Chester County Department of Drug and Alcohol Services.

To mark the occasion, 104 pinwheels will be displayed in front of the Chester County Justice
Center on Market Street in West Chester and the West Chester Borough Building on Gay Street
in West Chester, representing the 104 lives lost to accidental overdose in Chester County in
2019.

In addition, citizens are invited to participate in a social media campaign in which a pinwheel graphic is shared, to remember loved ones and spread awareness on that day.