John Merz, Executive Director

Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition

(860) 761-6699

Paul Botticello, Executive Director

AIDS Project Hartford

(860) 951-4833

(Hartford)  AIDS Project Hartford and the Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition will join dozens of organizations in the U.S. as they participate in International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31st. The day honors and remembers those who have lost their lives to an overdose. The occasion is also an opportunity to educate policymakers and the public about the growing overdose crisis in Connecticut – and to promote concrete solutions that save lives.

In Connecticut and across the United States, the overdose crisis is growing.

Accidental drug overdoses have quadrupled since 1990 and now are the primary cause of death of more than 26,000 Americans every year. In Connecticut, drug overdoses are the leading cause of unintentional deaths among adults.  More than 2,200 people have died in Connecticut from opiod overdoses in the past 11 years – more than one every other day – a survey of state medical records conducted by the Yale School of Public Health found.  Only 22 of the state’s 196 towns did not have a reported overdose.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, drug overdose now rank as a leading cause of preventable death in the U.S, second only to motor-vehicle accidents. Most overdose deaths in the United States are now attributed to prescription opioid painkillers such as oxycodone.

AIDS Project Hartford and the CT AIDS Resource Coalition are advocating for two concrete actions that can help to prevent many overdose deaths. The first is a “Good Samaritan 911″ legislation which encourages people witnessing an overdose to call 911 without fear of arrest. New Mexico and Washington have passed legislation addressing this in recent years. The second proposal is to expand the availability of the overdose reversal drug Naloxone which restores normal breathing in two to three minutes when administered during an opioid overdose; which gives time to get the person to an emergency room for further treatment.

A press conference will be held at the office of AIDS Project Hartford, 110 Bartholomew Avenue, 3rd floor, Hartford, CT at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, to further describe these two policy initiatives.

International Overdose Awareness Day, started by the Salvation Army in Australia in 2001, is an opportunity for people around the world to:

Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition is the statewide umbrella organization supporting HIV/AIDS service providers in Connecticut.

AIDS Project Hartford is a private, non-profit organization that is dedicated to improving the quality of life of all people in Connecticut who are impacted by HIV/AIDS.