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NEW BEDFORD — Family members told heart-rending stories of those lost to opioid addiction. Some carried poster-sized photos of loved ones who now reside only in memories.
Mayor Jon Mitchell, Police Chief Paul Oliveira, Public Health Director Stephanie Sloan, state Rep. Christopher Hendricks and Rev. David Lima shared words from the steps of City Hall. And City Councilor Shane Burgo sang.
Tuesday evening’s observance of International Overdose Awareness Day (Aug. 31) came a few days early in New Bedford, but with no shortage of emotion.
This article is part of an ongoing New Bedford Light series examining the far-reaching impacts of addiction.
Organized by the Greater New Bedford Opioid Task Force, the event included a procession from City Hall to Custom House Square, where recovery service providers waited at tables, dispensing promotional gifts, along with information to help. Roughly 100 people participated in the evening’s ceremonies — remembering, without stigma, those lost to addiction and understanding the grief of the loved ones who live on.
The statistics are daunting.
More than 541 people have died of an accidental drug overdose in New Bedford since 2015, a tally that unfortunately has grown since the number was cited in a New Bedford Light report.
One in every 1,250 city residents died of an overdose during 2022 — more than double the statewide rate, according to a 2023 New Bedford Light investigation. And at least 70 New Bedford fishermen died from drug overdoses between 2018 and 2022, a time when fentanyl killed more fishermen than car crashes, work-related accidents, heart disease or cancer.
Beyond the staggering numbers, every overdose carries with it a personal story.
Dartmouth mom Tuesday Desrochers spoke about the two sons she lost to overdoses six years apart — Maxwell, the loving dad, and Caleb, the handsome young man with a flair for fashion.
It was also a night to support those in recovery and to look ahead for ways to prevent more tragedies.
Overdose survivor Ashley Cabral described her work as a diversion coach with police, finding treatment instead of incarceration for those with substance abuse disorder.
And Mayor Mitchell encouraged the efforts to continue.
“The only thing that I wish for is that everybody take this moment and bottle it up and have it motivate all of us over the course of the next year and beyond to make progress, to save lives and to make our city stronger.”
Email Andy Tomolonis at atomolonis@newbedfordlight.org.