Opioid Overdose Memorial Back In Natick, Volunteers Needed

NATICK, MA — An annual memorial in Natick for people who died due to substance-use disorder will return this weekend, and organizers are looking for volunteers to help set it up.

S.O.A.R. (Supporting Outreach and Addiction Recovery) Natick will plant scores of purple flags outside the First Congregational Church downtown beginning on Sunday. The Natick display is one of three across the region, with others going up in September at Newton-Wellesley Hospital and Brigham and Women's in Boston.

"We must stop the stigma associated with this disease and come out of the shadows so that we may continue to bring awareness and empathy to all those affected," S.O.A.R. said of the display.

This year's display is especially poignant. The state Department of Public Health released new opioid overdose data for 2020 in May. Over 2,100 people died last year, a 5 percent statewide rise in opioid-related overdose deaths compared to 2019.

Health officials believe the coronavirus pandemic may have contributed to the increase, the state's first in three years, by disrupting access to support services, or increasing stress and anxiety — or due to a job loss or the loss of a loved one.

Anyone who wants to volunteer for the S.O.A.R. Natick display should email soarnatick@gmail.com