International Overdose Awareness Day event honors lives lost to opioid epidemic
Family & Children’s Association’s THRIVE program marked International Overdose Awareness Day to remember Long Islanders lost to the opioid epidemic and provide support, education, and healing resources at its Hauppauge location on Friday, August 29.
The event culminated with a candlelight vigil where the names of more than 100 Long Islanders who lost their battle with addiction were read aloud to a tearful room of family, friends and supporters. International Overdose Awareness Day is officially observed every August 31.
“Nationwide, we’re losing more than 80,000 people a year to something that’s entirely preventable,” said Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, president and CEO of Family & Children’s Association. “Here in New York State and even more locally in Nassau and Suffolk County, we’ve seen big overdose numbers and a lot of our neighbors are struggling with the loss of loved ones.”
In 2023, more than 650 Long Islanders died from drug overdoses, with a dramatic 77% increase in overdoses from 2013 to 2017, mostly due to the rise in fentanyl use. While 2024 numbers have trended down, some are concerned that federal cuts to drug programs will erase recent gains in treatment and recovery.
“It’s extremely empowering to be in a room with other people who have gone through a similar experience and know that you’re not alone,” said Jamie Ruiz Dekenipp, whose brother overdosed on Christmas Eve 2014. “I’d like to keep my brother’s memory alive and being able to talk about him is one of the most important ways to connect with others who have experienced loss and to hopefully try to eradicate the stigma surrounding addiction.”
The event was also a call to action to release money won in legal settlements with pharmaceutical companies to support recovery programs. Both Nassau and Suffolk counties have yet to open access to the Opioid Settlement Funding initiative, representing funding that could be used by non-profits to grow treatment programs and reduce deaths.
“The manufacturers and distributors of opioids made a whole lot of money on the backs of folks who aren’t here anymore,” said Reynolds. “The reality is there are tens of millions of dollars sitting locally, sitting statewide, that could immediately be deployed to help clean up the mess caused by opioids.”
Other organizations and officials taking part in the event included Steve Chassman, executive director of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD), Anthony Rizzuto, director of Provider Relations at Seafield, Kym Laube, executive director of Human Understanding & Growth Services (HUGS), State Sen. Monica Martinez, State Sen. Dean Murray, Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, Suffolk Legis. Dominick Thorne and Suffolk County District Attorney Narcotics Bureau Chief Megan O’Donnell.
