Community Corner
Smuggler's Beach Event Honors Overdose Awareness Day On Cape Cod
Lost loved ones will be honored with a candlelight vigil, and speakers will share personal experiences. Here's what to know.
SOUTH YARMOUTH, MA — Cape Cod will join communities across the nation and state in marking a solemn occasion on Wednesday: Overdose Awareness Day.
On Aug. 31, vigils and rallies will be held across the state to remember local people who had died due to overdoses — a number that has increased recently.
On Cape Cod, an event will honor those who've lost their lives or loved ones at Smuggler's Beach in South Yarmouth.
Find out what's happening in Barnstable-Hyannisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Those planning to attend are asked to bring a beach chair and a large photo of a loved one lost. Expect heartfelt tributes from speakers with personal connections to the horrors of overdose, a candlelight vigil and sunset prayer.
Community resource tables will be available to those in attendance.
Find out what's happening in Barnstable-Hyannisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The event begins at 5:30 p.m. on the beach.
The rate of deaths from opioid-related overdoses increased in 2021 by 8.8 percent from 2020, preliminary data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) released in June showed. Massachusetts had 2,290 confirmed and estimated opioid-related overdose deaths in 2021 — 185 more than in 2020.
Many communities will set up fields of purple flags, the symbol of people lost to drug overdoses.
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