September 13, 2022
Mayor's Office
DATE: September 13, 2022
TO: Members of the City Council
FROM: Tom Butt, Mayor
Subject: Overdose Awareness Day – August 31, 2022
FINANCIAL IMPACT: N/A
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
N/A
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
In 2001, Sally Finn from The Salvation Army in
Melbourne, Australia recognized International Overdose
Awareness Day to end overdose, remember without
stigma those who have died, and acknowledge the grief
of the family and friends left behind.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: PROCLAMATION declaring August 31, 2022, as Overdose Awareness Day in the City of Richmond –
Mayor’s Office (Mayor Tom Butt 510-620-6503).
DISCUSSION:
Since 2012, this occasion has been coordinated by the not-for-profit Australian public health organisation Penington Institute, which focuses on promoting effective strategies, frontline workforce education, and public awareness activities.
Provisional data from the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics indicate there were an estimated 107,622 drug overdose deaths in the United AGENDA
REPORT
September 13, 2022
States during 2021, an increase of nearly 15 percent from the 93,655 deaths estimated in 2020. According to the California Overdose Surveillance Dashboard, there were 6,843 opioid-overdose related deaths statewide in 2021, 180 of which occurred in Contra Costa County, placing us in tenth place when ranked by overall county deaths.
The City of Richmond affirms and acknowledges the harms and hardships caused by drug overdoses and resolves to play our part in reducing its toll in our community, which continues to claim lives yearly, forever affecting those who loved and cared about them.
The City of Richmond is grateful for our community partners who are leading the fight, such as the Alcohol, Marijuana, and Prescription Drug (AMPD) Coalition, the Contra Costa County Medication, Education, and Disposal Safety (MEDS) Coalition, and BAART Programs. The City of Richmond encourages all community members to participate in overdose awareness related programs and activities.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Proclamation