Friday, Aug. 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day. It is a day when we come together to honor the people we have lost because of drug use and to stand committed to reducing the stigma that results in so many people suffering in isolation. It is a day where we acknowledge that the people we have lost were valued members in our community, commit to standing with people who are still using and fight for the lifesaving services that this community needs and deserves.
In the past five years, more than 2,700 people have died in Oregon from overdose. While this number is heartbreaking and staggering on its own, it does not paint the complete picture of loss that our drug-using community is dealing with. This number does not include the people who died from other drug-related causes, such as HIV, hepatitis C, or soft tissue infections. It does not speak to the people who have died by suicide because they could no longer cope with living with their addiction.
It does not measure the heartache and trauma people surviving are living with.
They were our friends, neighbors and family members. Each of these people were part of the fabric of our community. They were people who are gone too soon from causes that are often preventable and treatable.
People who use drugs, especially people struggling with a substance-use disorder, often carry so much pain, trauma and shame with them through the world.
They are living in a time when death from drug use is continuing to climb and there is not often time to grieve one loss before the next loss hits.
They are afraid not only for their lives but for the lives of their friends and family. They are operating in a world that views them as less deserving and less human than others in the community.
Even with all of this stigma, it is people who are using drugs who are stepping up to save lives in our community.
People who use drugs are regularly using naloxone, the antidote to opioid overdose, in our community. There are thousands of people who use drugs in the Portland metro area who are trained to prevent overdose death by using naloxone, and more than 3,200 overdoses have been reported to staff at local syringe exchanges. These people are saving the lives of friends, family members and strangers every day. They are unsung heroes in our fight against the overdose crisis in our city. Without these people, our overdose death rates would be far worse.
People who are using drugs do not need to die. These deaths can be prevented by lowering the stigma against people who use drugs and bringing these people to the forefront in efforts to end our addiction crisis.
They can be prevented by ensuring the people who are most likely to overdose or to see an overdose have naloxone.
They can be prevented by having access to inclusive trauma-informed healthcare that can treat many of their infections.
They can be prevented by having low-barrier, evidence based access to treatments for their substance use and mental health issues.
These deaths can be prevented by creating spaces for people to feel cared for and empowered. We can all work to prevent these deaths.
In honor of International Overdose Awareness Day, Outside In invites you to join us Aug. 31 for our annual memorial for those who had died from drug use. We will honor those we have lost and work to build a safer healthier world for people who use drugs.
Haven Wheelock is the Drug Users Health Service Program coordinator for Outside In, a medical provider and social service agency in Portland.
If you go
What: International Overdose Awareness Day Memorial
Where: Outside In, 1132 SW 13th Ave., Portland
When: 6-8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31, 2018