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By John Russo
PLEASANTVILLE — About 100 South Jersey residents gathered at the Angels in Motion office Friday with the same goal: preventing the loss of lives due to addiction.
The organization held an Overdose Awareness Day event that included the distribution of lifesaving resources, support and community members, families who lost loved ones, people in recovery and people who used drugs to take action toward solutions to end the overdose crises in the county and around the country.
Angels in Motion office in Pleasantville on Friday
The event was hosted by organizations including Not 0ne More NJ, Atlantic Prevention Resources, Join Together Atlantic County and Angels in Motion.
Overdose Awareness Day is typically observed Aug. 31.
In Friday’s ceremony, 179 purple flags were planted to represent those who died from overdoses in Atlantic County in 2023.“
I could easily be a flag we are planting today,” said event organizer Elissa Tierney, a member of the Not 0ne More campaign. “I really don’t know why I lived, but I have to believe it’s to help end the overdose crisis. I was a victim of body brokering. My insurance plan and body were fought over by treatment centers with no one actually caring what was best for me.”
Linda Thompson, who lost her son to an overdose four years ago, talked about the potential dangers of certain prescription drugs.
“Our loved ones suffered at the hands of doctors who wrote too many prescriptions,”Thompson said. “They suffered at the hands of Big Pharma who did their best to change the culture and lie about the addictive nature of the pills they pushed for profit.”
Angels in Motion asked for support in creating and distributing “blessing bags,” with food, clothing, toiletries and connections to resources. The Not One More campaign focused on community members’ visions for how to spend opioid settlement funds coming into the state for the next 16 years to best address the overdose crisis.
“Our event not only promotes overdose awareness, but it also encourages human connection, solidarity, and healing,” Angels in Motion director Susan Long said. “Its hows people that they are not alone in their struggles and that there are connections to care and support available to them. Our community members are valued, loved and matter to us.”
