Somerville residents are invited to join the City in acknowledging International Overdose Awareness Day on Saturday, August 31, as well as National Recovery Month in September.

At a memorial gathering on Thursday, August 29, 77 purple flags were placed in front of City Hall in memory of the 77 Somerville residents lost to an overdose since 2014. A larger flag was placed in memory of those lost in prior years. City Hall will be illuminated with purple light and the flags will remain up for the week in solidarity.

Community members are invited to tie a purple ribbon on their property, to hang purple outdoor lights in remembrance throughout September, or to change their social media profile picture to the image above to help raise awareness.