08/26/2026
💜 AUGUST IS OVERDOSE AWARENESS MONTH 💜
Overdose is not just a statistic.
It is an empty chair at the dinner table.
It is a phone number you still can’t bring yourself to delete.
It is a birthday that suddenly feels different.
It is a mother burying her child, a child growing up without a parent, siblings missing each other, and families wondering if there was something they could have done differently. 🕯️
Overdose leaves a ripple of grief behind.
Families can be left carrying guilt, anger, trauma, unanswered questions, financial struggles, broken relationships, and a kind of grief that can last a lifetime. Addiction doesn’t only affect the person struggling. It reaches into the lives of everyone who loves them.
📊 THE FACTS MATTER:
💜 The CDC estimates that 69,973 people died from drug overdoses in the United States in 2025.
💜 About 44,564 of those deaths involved opioids.
💜 CDC data from 43 jurisdictions found that 65.1% of overdose deaths in 2024 involved illegally made fentanyl.
💜 Most heartbreaking of all, CDC data found that 67.5% of overdose deaths had at least one potential opportunity for intervention.
Read that again.
An opportunity for intervention.
That is why awareness matters.
Talking about overdose matters.
Knowing the signs matters.
Having naloxone available matters.
Checking on someone matters.
Treatment matters.
Recovery matters.
And removing the shame surrounding addiction MATTERS.
People struggling with addiction are still somebody’s child, parent, sibling, partner, best friend, or entire world. ❤️🩹
We cannot bring back the people we have lost, but we can say their names. We can tell their stories. We can educate others. We can support the people still fighting. And maybe, because somebody learned something today, another family won’t have to receive that devastating phone call tomorrow.
Remember those we lost. Support those who survived. Fight for those still struggling. 💜🕯️
