Sonoma County to host overdose awareness event August 31

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Sonoma County Department of Health Services is inviting the public to attend an Aug. 31 event to raise awareness about the dangers of overdosing from substances. The public event, which will include food and demonstrations of overdose prevention tools, is scheduled for International Overdose Awareness Day.

The event will be held in the parking lot of the Santa Rosa nonprofit Face to Face. Participants will be able to observe a demonstration of the opioid overdose reversal drug Naloxone, which is also sold as Narcan. Strips that allow users to test for the presence of fentanyl in drugs will also be on display.

The county will be partnering with Buckelew Programs to host a community circle at the event to commemorate those impacted by substance use.

What: Overdose Awareness Day event 
When: Aug. 31 from noon to 3 p.m. 
Where: Face to Face, 873 2nd St., Santa Rosa

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors recently proclaimed Aug. 31 as Overdose Awareness Day, in recognition of those who have died and in support of those who have lost loved ones to an overdose.

Those affected by overdose are not just those individuals with a substance use disorder. Many people have friends or family that have died from an overdose, and this day of remembrance allows the county to advocate for those without a voice.

The Department of Health Services has engaged with numerous community partners to educate and inform the public on the risks of substance use and the potential to overdose on substances such as fentanyl that are becoming increasingly more available. Continued support from the community is necessary to promote healthy living and reduce the stigma associated with overdoses and substance use to incentivize those impacted to seek treatment and preventative measures.

Since 1999, more than 1 million people in the U.S. have died from a drug overdose. Currently, over 96,700 people die every year in the U.S. from drug overdoses, and opioids are a factor in seven out of 10 drug overdose deaths.

Sonoma County has the second highest rate of overdoses in the Bay Area. Drug overdose deaths increased dramatically from 2016 to 2021 in Sonoma County, driven by opioids. Additionally, 87 percent of opioid overdose deaths involved fentanyl.

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Media Contact: 
Matt Brown, Communications Specialist 
publicaffairs@sonoma-county.org
(707) 565-3040
575 Administration Drive, Suite 104A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403