On International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD), August 31st, communities worldwide come together to honor, without stigma, the people who have lost their lives to overdose. It’s a day for families to recognize their loved ones and for all of us to acknowledge the grief of family and friends who have experienced this loss. It’s also an opportunity to think critically about the programs and policies our communities need to finally put an end to the overdose crisis. In honor of this year’s IOAD theme, “Together we can,” HMA recognizes the power of community when we all stand together with a united goal of ending overdose.
Overdose can affect anyone. In the last twelve months alone, there were more than 100,000 reported overdose deaths across the U.S., and 42 percent of Americans now report they know someone who has died of drug overdose. More than ever, we need strong, multifaceted coalitions to shift the narrative around overdose and ensure we are using resources effectively to reduce harm, increase chances of overdose survival, and promote quality of life for people who use drugs, people in recovery, and the communities where they live.
HMA brings together people with lived and living experience, local community members, and public health professionals to plan, evaluate, and implement meaningful programs across the continuum of care to address overdose as the health crisis that it is. Our trusted subject matter experts have their own lived experience that influences HMA’s approach, and we strive to center the voices of people who are most impacted at every opportunity.
HMA is committed to helping clients prioritize effective solutions to the overdose crisis, which includes promoting services that are evidence-based and designed with robust input from community stakeholders. HMA supports naloxone distribution by engaging in street-based outreach, developing mapping tools for organizations to see the impact of their efforts in real time, and training healthcare providers on harm reduction. In 2024, HMA also hosted the Compassionate Overdose Response Summit to address questions about naloxone dosing and the long-term effects of precipitated withdrawal. HMA continues to be a leader in helping clients revolutionize treatment, particularly for priority populations such as children’s behavioral health and the justice involved. Earlier this year HMA led a webinar series called the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Ecosystem of Care Webinar Series: Pivoting to Save Lives describing a whole person, integrated, solutions-based approach to the ongoing overdose epidemic. The series encourages leaders to reconsider standard attempts to solve this crisis and be willing to pivot away from approaches that have not yielded the level of impact that this crisis demands.
On IOAD, and every day, HMA stands united with the communities that are left behind to experience the long-lasting impacts of grief, and we celebrate the thousands of people who have experienced overdose and survived. Every overdose survival is another opportunity to uplift the strategies that work to save lives. We honor everyone impacted by overdose by using a community-led approach that encourages collective action to prevent, and ultimately end, all overdoses.
For more information on HMA overdose prevention services, visit our Harm Reduction solutions page or contact our featured experts below.
