For the third year, the Opioid Settlement Working Group will observe International Overdose Awareness Day with a two-week display of purple flags in the center of town representing the lives tragically cut short by the opioid crisis. Opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts in 2025 are estimated to be 27% lower than in 2024 and build on a downward statewide trend.
This decrease to under 1,000 fatal overdoses is encouraging and reflects the impact of sustained investments in prevention, increased access to harm reduction services, and continuing support for treatment and recovery programs for those living with substance use disorder.
Every Aug. 31, IOAD unites a global community to take action on overdose. What began as a small remembrance gathering in Australia in 2001 is now a powerful campaign to reduce the stigma of addiction, end opioid-related overdose, remember those lost to an overdose and acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind.
