PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city marked National Overdose Awareness Day with a standout and a candlelit vigil.

 

In 2022, there were 48 fatal overdoses in Berkshire County— 29 just in Pittsfield.  Since 2012, there has been a staggering 418 deaths from overdose in the county.

 

Each person lost was represented in Park Square with a sign that a candle was placed in front of.

 

Julie MacDonald, program director of Living in Recovery, reminded attendees that each person grieved as a unique individual with their own personalities, strengths, struggles, accomplishments, disappointments, and life stories.

 

"We come together on this day with a range of emotions as deep and complex as those that we are remembering. Some of you may have come feeling bruised and broken by such a loss and asking what you could have done to prevent it or what you could have done to lessen your loved ones' pain and suffering," she said.

 

"For some, there is an array of mixed emotions and a futile search to understand why their loved one suffered so, why they were taken from this earth snatched away in the brutal arms of addiction, but let us remember that no matter how stalked they were by their own pain, their life also had many moments of delight and of happiness, caring and friendship, sharing and love. They mattered in this lifetime and today we remind ourselves and our community of that."

 

The events were held by participants in the Berkshire Overdose Addiction Prevention Collaborative and the HEALing Communities Study, which aims to reduce opioid overdose deaths by 40 percent over three years in the participating communities.

 

Thousands of doses of the overdose-reversing medicine Narcan, or Naloxone, have been distributed throughout the county along with education through the effort.

 

"Think of it like a fire extinguisher, a defibrillator," Betsy Strickler, communications consultant at HEALing Communities explained. "We all know how to use them or are willing to try to use them if we can save somebody's life and you hope to goodness you never need to do that. That's what we want to do with Naloxone."

 

Thursday's standout was to raise awareness for lifesaving harm reduction practices and the vigil was a time for grief, reflection, and remembrance, and hope.

 

"Today it really is not only holding space for people who have lost somebody to an overdose and the people we've all lost to overdoses really, it's about raising awareness, because they're preventable," Samantha Kendall of Berkshire Harm Reduction said.

 

"Overdoses are preventable, the deaths are preventable, so this is an important day not only for harm reduction, I think it should be for everybody because it affects everybody."

 

Michele and Robert Provencher have been involved with the day of remembrance for years, wearing shirts that honor their son Matthew, who passed away in 2015.

 

Michele explained that she was wearing the shirt to raise awareness and show that she lost a person very special to her.

 

"You read it in the paper, you hear about it, but to actually see family members who have lost someone is a big deal," she added.

 

The couple was involved with the first overdose awareness event several years ago that was formed at Berkshire Medical Center out of a grief support group.  

 

MacDonald spoke to the stigma that is attached to overdose deaths.

 

"We have parents out there or partners out there, children out there, that don't want to say 'My person died from an overdose,' because very often, that person becomes blamed rather than being a victim to an illness," she said.

 

"I've been telling everyone, it's like someone is in a diabetic coma because they forgot to eat, but you aren't going to say 'Well just leave them there. They didn't eat today. That's their fault,' It's the same thing. It's a disease."

 

Director of Public Health Andy Cambi emphasized the importance of the city being a part of the effort.

 

"I think it's important to show support to all the agencies, especially on this day, and remember the Overdose Awareness Day and just to be part of it and collaborate," he said.

 

The city has implemented around six Narcan boxes through the study and expects to have ten by the end of the year.  It is also available at the health department and Cambi reported that the city is looking into getting its own supply.

 

MacDonald hopes that education and increased access to harm reduction continue.

 

"This is something that I think can make a huge difference in our community as long as we keep talking about it, as long as we keep educating," she said.

 

North County also recognized Overdose Awareness Day, with dozens turning out in front of the North Adams City Hall.