As county agencies and partners continue efforts to combat overdoses, an annual event in Rockville raised awareness for reducing stigma and recognized those residents who have died.
Those who have passed from overdose were remembered during an annual Overdose Awareness Day event and candlelight vigil Thursday evening in Rockville.
Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller said she lost her brother-in-law to an opioid overdose in 2017.
“Addiction is not a moral failure, it’s a chronic health condition,” Miller said. She said she has made mental and behavioral health a priority in the Lieutenant Governor’s office.
“The three most dangerous words are ‘not my kid’ because it is, it could be. At any moment it could be,” said Laura Mitchell, who is co-founder of Montgomery Goes Purple, a coalition with a mission to prevent substance use harm and overdose. Montgomery Goes Purple hosted the event.
“Don’t look at somebody who’s going through something — who’s dealing with mental health issues, dealing with addiction — as wrong or broken,” said county resident Greg Hill, who is Mitchell’s son. “They just need a little bit of help. They need a little bit of love.”
Hill attended the event with his wife, Shannon, who he met several years ago through a recovery house.
Family members joined a candlelight vigil to remember their loved ones. Earlier in the evening, a resource fair was set up indoors with tables sharing resources with residents.
Photos of residents who have died lined the walkways of Rockville’s Memorial Plaza.
County Councilmember Gabe Albornoz, who is also chair of the council’s Health and Human Services committee, acknowledged leaders must work together to “have policies in place to make sure that we eliminate the stigma, that we provide more treatment, that we provide more awareness and that we do everything humanly possible to support our community and these incredibly wonderful families.”
Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight said Narcan — a medicine that counteracts an opioid overdose — is available in schools, “and to have that readily available in our buildings was a big step in the right direction.”
This year, all high schools have prevention groups, compared to five high schools last year, McKnight said.
Thursday evening marked the eighth annual Overdose Awareness Day ceremony.
