Pembroke Pines Participates in International Overdose Awareness Day with FedUp! Local Rally

Pembroke Pines, FL  (August 21, 2018) -- As part of International Overdose Awareness Day, there will be a FedUP! Local Rally (urging a strong federal response to the opioid epidemic) held in the City of Pembroke Pines at the Charles F. Dodge City Center, located at 601 City Center Way, on Friday, August 31, 2018 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.  Everyone is encouraged to attend this free event.
 
“Addiction is the leading health care crisis facing our country today,” said Pembroke Pines Commissioner Iris A. Siple, who has actively been promoting opioid education via her Educational Roundtables and Forums. “And, while the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services declared a nationwide public health emergency regarding the opioid crisis, we’ve got to keep this a top priority and bring a new level of urgency to our efforts to stop this opioid epidemic.”
 
There will be community booths to visit and resources available beginning at 7 p.m. in the Center's Lobby.  Speaker Presentations will begin at 8 p.m., and (PHOTO OP) the evening will conclude with a Candle Light Vigil in front of the City Center.  Guests are welcome to bring photos of their loved ones lost due to addiction.  These photos will be honored during the closing vigil in a specially created Memorial Garden.
 
Only three such rallies are being held in the State of Florida: Pembroke Pines, Palm Beach and St. Petersburg.
 
Each day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 140 Americans die from drug overdoses, 91 specifically due to opioids. In 2016, it’s estimated that more than 11.5 million people misused prescription opioids.
 
The Fed UP! Coalition was formed in 2012 when several organization from across the country joined forces to share concerns that the federal government was failing to stop opioid addiction and overdose deaths. Rallies are held in Washington D.C. as well as locally throughout the country.  FedUP! Local in Pembroke Pines is sponsored by the Fellowship Foundation, South Florida Wellness Network, the City of Pembroke Pines and STOPPnow.com.  
 
International Overdose Awareness Day, initiated in 2001 and now coordinated by the not-for-profit Australian public health organization Penington Institute, is a global event held on August 31^st each year to raise awareness of drug overdoses and reduce the stigma of a drug-related death.
 
For more information, please call Brian Spector at 954-392-2082 or Liz Fisher at 954-296-7832 or visit www.feduprally.org.  

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