Community / Isles to mark international overdose awareness day
LERWICK Town Hall’s clock face will be lit purple on Monday (31 August) to remember those lost to overdose and to raise awareness that they are regarded as preventable deaths.
There will also be a remembrance event in the Lerwick flower park on the same day at 7.30pm, where people will have the chance to light a candle while they remember someone lost to overdose.
The event will be held under the appropriate guidance on social distancing.
It will take place on International Overdose Awareness Day, which seeks to create a better understanding of overdose and reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths.
Shetland Islands Council convener Malcolm Bell: “Overdose can affect anybody, and one of the messages of this day is that the people who overdose are our sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters – they are loved and they are missed.
“No family should ever have to go through the pain of losing a loved one in this way. By holding an event this year, the people of Shetland are joining themselves to a global movement for understanding, compassion, and change.”
Amanda Pearson from the local recovery hub and community network said: “We are putting on this event to honour our loved ones who have died, and for those affected by drug overdose.
“By coming together to remember them, we stand together to say that more needs to be done to end overdose in our community.”
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