Together We Can: International Overdose Awareness Day 2024

To mark International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) our staff visited Ridley Road market on 29 and 30 of August to distribute needle and syringe provision, drug and alcohol support and naloxone training. 

Inspired by the theme of IOAD 2024, “Together We Can” residents were invited to write messages on a “Wall of Reflection” to discuss how overdose has impacted them and how we can come together to end it. 

The Hackney Community Wellbeing Team along with partners from the homelessness prevention team, the Hackney Money Hub, Support When It Matters (SWIM) team, and Turning Point (the City & Hackney Recovery Service) helped to engage the community and supported in distributing naloxone, providing information on harm reduction, and linking people to support services, including drug and alcohol support.

For a schedule of the Community Wellbeing Van, please visit: https://hackney.gov.uk/wellbeing-space

With the rise in highly potent synthetic opioids and other harmful contaminants in the local drug supply, it is more critical than ever to expand access to critical life-saving resources, like naloxone (the antidote to opioid overdose), to all residents. Community-based work, like the Hackney Harm Reduction Hub and the Community Wellbeing Van are vital to achieving this.

Together with our partners across the council, NHS, and other first-responders, we are working to prevent overdose and ensure that we have a robust system of care and support for those experiencing harm from substance use.

Dr Sandra Husbands, Director of Public Health for Hackney and the City