More than 22,000 purple flags will be planted on the Boston Common to serve as a remembrance of the lives lost to overdose in Massachusetts in the past decade.
BOSTON - In honor of Overdose Awareness Day, Boston Medical Center (BMC) will join the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and state officials to plant more than 22,000 purple flags on the Boston Common. The flags serve as a remembrance of each of the lives lost to overdose in Massachusetts in the past decade.
“Overdose Awareness Day is a time to reflect on the devastating impact that substance use disorders (SUD) have on our communities,” said Colleen LaBelle, MSN, director of the Grayken Center for Addiction Training and Technical Assistance program and director of the Office Based Addiction Treatment (OBAT) Clinic at BMC. “BMC’s Grayken Center for Addiction is committed and dedicated to providing cutting-edge SUD treatment to better the health of people with addiction.”
The public is welcome to view the flags, honor someone lost to overdose by placing a sticker on a flag, or decorate a rock to contribute to the rock garden memorial until September 1. Information and resources on overdose prevention, naloxone access, and ways to access addiction treatment will also be available.
“On Overdose Awareness Day, we honor those who have tragically lost their lives to this crisis and stand in solidarity with their families,” said Eilene Grayken, who, with her husband John Grayken, helped establish the Grayken Center for Addiction at BMC in 2017 with their generous philanthropic gift. “Together, we can end the stigma by expanding access to research, education, policy, and advocacy efforts.”
“With the rapidly rising overdose rates that have claimed thousands of American lives, we need to turn to the basic principles of harm reduction to stop the stigma and save lives,” said James Grayken, a member of the Grayken family. “As a college student, I wish to see the harm reduction model implemented into the education system to inform and ultimately save the next generation from the deadly disease of addiction.”
If you, or someone you know, are at risk of experiencing an overdose, call the overdose prevention helpline at 1-800-972-0590, a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week DPH-sponsored resource led by BMC’s Grayken Center for Addiction. To learn more about Massachusetts’ efforts to reduce addiction and prevent stigma, visit www.massgov/opiods.
About Boston Medical Center
Boston Medical Center models a new kind of excellence in healthcare, where innovative and equitable care empowers all patients to thrive. We combine world-class clinicians and cutting-edge treatments with compassionate, quality care that extends beyond our walls. As an award-winning health equity leader, our diverse clinicians and staff interrogate racial disparities in care and partner with our community to dismantle systemic inequities. And as a national leader in research and the teaching affiliate for Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, we’re driving the future of care.