BANGOR, Maine — Members of the Bangor area and beyond stood together at Pierce Park on Saturday chanting, "No more dead friends, no more dead, no more dead friends!"
The rally was held on International Overdose Awareness Day and was put together by the Maine Recovery Advocacy Project (MERAP), the Needlepoint Sanctuary, the Church of Safe Injection, and the Maine People's Alliance to give people an opportunity to come together and mourn loved ones who have died from overdoses.
Rally organizers say the event also aimed to raise awareness of an issue that has impacted thousands of families in our state.
"We see it every day in our communities, whether it's Portland, Bangor, Augusta, or Lewiston, our urban communities, we see people on the side of the road struggling right now," Organizing Director for MERAP Courtney Gary-Allen said.
In 2023, there were nearly 10,000 overdoses in the state, according to the Maine Drug Data Hub; 605 of the overdoses were fatal.
Attendee and Co-Director of the Church of Safe Injection Zoe Brokos says she's lost some of her own friends from overdoses.
"You really never get over it, the loss is so sudden. There's this incredibly deep feeling that it didn't need to happen," Brokos said.
According to Brokos and other attendees, the rally wasn't just about awareness, though. It was also about pushing state legislators to authorize programs that harm reduction experts say will reduce future overdoses, like overdose prevention centers.
"They're a place where people can use what they need, have clean safe sterile supplies, and if they do overdose, they will be saved," Harm Reduction Consultant Chasity Tuell said.
They say centers would also connect people using substances with valuable resources like peer support specialists, nurses, and other health care workers.
"That's where the real healing takes place, that's where you can have conversations about referral to hepatitis treatment, referral to recovery," Executive Director of the Needlepoint Sanctuary Willie Hurley said.
The sanctuary is one of three state certified syringe exchange programs in Penobscot County and provides a variety of services to those using substances.
Hurley says he's seen programs like his make an impact in his community.
"We get a couple of people into rehab a year at least and we also help people navigate really intense medical situations."
Hopeful for the future, organizers and attendees say they won't stop fighting together until further programs like reduction centers are put in place to prevent overdoses and death.
"We have lost so many loved ones, we don't wanna do that anymore, we are past that. We need to actually do something," Tuell said.
With the crowd ending the rally chanting, "We want safe injection sites, support, community, save a life!"
If you're interested in learning more about MERAP's goals for overdose prevention legislation, you can visit their website to learn more.