Every August 31, people wear purple, light buildings purple, and say the names of the people they lost. International Overdose Awareness Day turns 25 this year — it began in Melbourne, Australia in 2001 — and the 2026 theme doesn't celebrate the anniversary so much as regret it: “25 Years On. Still Needed.”
In Palm Beach County that lands differently than it does most places. By 2017 this county was the epicenter of Florida's overdose crisis, with more than 800 drug-related deaths in a single year. The numbers have come down since — the county's CORE network and Addiction Stabilization Unit are a real part of why — but almost nobody here needs the day explained. Most of us can name someone.
The day is for grief first. If you've lost someone to an overdose, August 31 exists so you don't have to carry that quietly or explain it away. Overdose deaths get mourned differently — hedged obituaries, half-told stories — and one day a year of saying it plainly, in public, is the correction. The organizers keep a worldwide events map at overdoseday.com, and the county's Facing the Crisis page lists what's happening locally through the fall.
It's also for the living, and there the useful action is specific: carry naloxone. Narcan reverses an opioid overdose, it's available at many Palm Beach County pharmacies without a personal prescription and through community distribution programs, and the person most likely to need it is usually someone you already know. If you watch an overdose happen: call 911, give naloxone, give rescue breaths if they aren't breathing, and turn the person on their side once breathing returns.
National Recovery Month starts the very next day, so if August 31 moves you to do something, September is a whole month of local ways to follow through. And if the person you're worried about is still here — that's the best version of this day. Help doesn't require a memorial. SAMHSA's helpline is 1-800-662-4357, any hour. In crisis, call or text 988.