Pittsburgh mourns victims, celebrates survivors in recovery on International Overdose Awareness Day

As nearly two dozen organizations gathered Wednesday at the City-County Building in Downtown to mark International Overdose Awareness Day, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey noted that overdoses killed 719 people in Allegheny County last year.

“That is almost two people we lost a day,” Gainey said. “These were our neighbors, our loved ones. They deserved support, a long life and to feel like they had access to opportunity, to help.”

Black residents in Allegheny County are dying at roughly twice the rate of their white counterparts, the mayor said, but he added that overdoses don’t discriminate by race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status.

“I don’t care if you’re Black, white, Latino, wealthy, poor,” Gainey said. “It’s hurting and killing our families and our friends.”

Gainey said the city is committed to harm reduction services such as needle exchanges. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are the only two cities in Pennsylvania with syringe services programs.

Director of the Office of Community Health and Safety Laura Drogowski said officials need to listen to the needs of people who are using drugs and those who are working with them directly. The focus, she said, should be on providing them with the services that help them.

Related:

• Pa. officials call for expansion of syringe service programs

• Overdose deaths in Allegheny, Westmoreland counties hit highest level since 2017 peak

• Allegheny County suing pharmacies, alleging large role in opioid epidemic

“One of the most important things we can do is be bold. We’re looking at a history of doing the same things over and over again and wondering why nothing’s changing,” Drogowski said, calling for “radical” solutions to the overdose crisis.

She pointed to harm reduction programs, social services engagements and needle programs as examples of how the city is finding new ways to address longstanding addiction issues.

While International Overdose Awareness Day is a day when many “mourn tremendous loss in our community,” Drogowski said it’s also an opportunity to acknowledge the people who take on the “difficult and thankless job” of combating overdoses and addiction.

Gainey said the day also provided an opportunity to show support for the people who are now fighting or have overcome drug addiction.

“If you had the willpower to overcome your addiction, there is nothing you cannot do,” he said, calling drug addiction survivors “the strongest people I’ve ever met in my life.”