2,367 overdose victims in 2022 in Massachusetts − how the South Shore is remembering them

The Patriot Ledger
·2 min read

The South Shore will honor the memories of those lost to overdoses with a butterfly release in Braintree and candlelight vigils in Weymouth and Quincy on Thursday.

In Quincy, Baystate Community Services will host "An Event of Remembrance and Hope" at New Way Peer Recovery at 85 Quincy Ave. at 4 p.m. The event, which will be open to the public, will feature speakers sharing their experiences of loss due to overdoses.

At 7 p.m., Quincy will host its 13th Annual Candlelight Vigil on the Hancock Adams Common. The event is "in memory of all those lost to overdose and substance abuse disorder," the city wrote in a social media post.

The Braintree Community Partnership on Substance Use and The Sun Will Rise Foundation will hold an International Overdose Awareness Day observance at 10 a.m. outside Braintree Town Hall, 1 John F. Kennedy Memorial Drive. The ceremony will conclude with a butterfly release.

On a fence next to town hall, 2,367 purple flags are on display to signify all the overdose deaths in Massachusetts during 2022. There are 10 white ones for the Braintree residents who died.

The Weymouth vigil will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Bradford Hawes Park, 167 Lakehurst Ave. It is sponsored by the Town of Weymouth Prevention Alliance and Community Partners.

Purple ribbons at Braintree Town Hall signify the loss of lives to drug overdoses.
Purple ribbons at Braintree Town Hall signify the loss of lives to drug overdoses.

Keryn Jacobs, the town's substance use prevention coordinator, said 24 Weymouth residents died from overdoses in 2022.

"We continue to work with health care systems, community organizations, first responders, schools and residents to create a healthier community by implementing harm reduction strategies, recovery programming and increasing access to mental health resources," Jacobs said.

The mission of the prevention alliance is to create a strong and healthy community by changing the social norms and minimizing the impact of substance misuse.

Jacobs said the alliance is working with Building Up Youth, a regional substance use prevention grant program involving Braintree, Milton, Quincy, Randolph and Weymouth. They are also part of the HEALing Communities Study with Boston Medical Center. The program tries to bridge the gaps that prevent people addicted to opioids from getting quality care and treatment.

For more information, contact Jacobs at 781-340-5008.

Staff writers Fred Hanson and Peter Blandino contributed to this report.

If you know of other South Shore events happening for International Overdose Awareness Day that you'd like added to this story, email Fred Hanson fhanson@patriotledger.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Overdose Awareness Day: Quincy, Braintree, Weymouth plan ceremonies