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On August 31st, Tarzana Treatment Centers (TTC)) marks the importance of International Overdose Awareness Day this year. Indeed, International Overdose Awareness Day is the world’s largest annual campaign to prevent the storm of overdoses from taking lives worldwide. Moreover, a major goal of Overdose Awareness Day is to remember the many people who have died without stigma. We need to acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind in the wake of this storm.

At the same time, multiple TTC sites are commemorating Overdose Awareness Day by setting up information tables in our lobbies to raise awareness and provide information packets. Moreover, many sites are running education groups to provide information about overdose prevention. Along with providing information, these sites will be handing out Narcan kits. A true lifesaver, this medication is used for the emergency treatment of opioid overdose. Moreover, in the harsh glare of the plague of Fentanyl overdose deaths, they also will be handing out Fentanyl test strips. As an opioid medication designed for hospital use, Fentanyl is fifty to a hundred times more powerful than heroin or opium. Thus, test strips help save lives through prevention.

The Motto of Overdose Awareness Day – Time to Remember. Time to Act.

Beyond marking International Overdose Awareness Day, TTC appreciates that the observance offers a useful website with quality information and resources. What we like about the motto of International Overdose Awareness Day is that it highlights both sides of the coin. Thus, both the memory of what is lost and the importance of future prevention are side-by-side.

First, Overdose Awareness Day marks the importance of remembering the people who died from overdoses with the first part of the motto: Time to Remember. The essential impact of this remembrance is a push against the stigma of overdose. Indeed, the death of a human being to a drug overdose does not lessen the pain of that death. Hence, mothers and fathers do not experience the tragedy any less painfully because a loved one died from a drug overdose. Therefore, the stigma that shrouds drug overdose remains a barrier to the simple realization that human life is lost.

As a provider of substance use disorder (SUD) prevention and treatment services, TTC sees too many innocent lives taken before their time. In response, TTC focuses on an integrated treatment model where the whole person is treated. By treating the whole person, TTC addresses the problem beyond addiction. Indeed, the underlying factors behind the addictive disorder are essential as well. On Overdose Awareness Day, childhood trauma and other contributing factors that lead to drug overdoses are part of the recognition process.

Proactive Steps on International Overdose Awareness Day

Thus, the second part of the motto of Overdose Awareness Day is Time to Act. By taking proactive steps, the second part centers around prevention and raising awareness. On the archived resource page, the website offers a bevy of downloadable resources. Such resources help institutions, communities, and individuals take the observance to the next level of positive impact. Moreover, by offering Narcan kits and Fentanyl test strips, Tarzana Treatment Centers is on the front lines of providing lifesaving resources.

When a person experiences a substance use disorder that leads to a potentially deadly drug overdose, professional help is necessary. In other words, Tarzana Treatment Centers do not want friends and family members to handle such a challenge alone. Rather, as a quality nonprofit provider of substance use disorder treatment, we are here to help. If you believe a loved one is in danger of a drug overdose, please do not hesitate. Indeed, the raging wave of tragic drug overdoses needs to stop today. Thus, contact us today and potentially save a life.