Black Balloon Day Yesterday. Do You Know What It Means?

Someone asked me about the significance of Black Balloon Day, and admittedly I knew nothing and had to google it.

Black Balloon Day, which was yesterday, is a day dedicated to drug overdose deaths and it is observed all across America.

Maine lost 636 people last year to drug overdoses.

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That is a lot of people. And yes it is sad.

Each person who died left behind family and friends who loved them, even if the deceased didn’t realize that when they were alive. Lots of drug addicts are estranged from their families.  But it doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt very deeply for those families when a family member dies of an overdose. Maybe being estranged makes it hurt even more.

Black Balloon Day doesn’t just remember those that have passed, but it is also a movement to get more help for those who are addicted before it is too late.

State Representative Lydia Crafts said

We cannot continue to arrest our way out of addiction

Lots of loved ones of those lost to a drug overdose say they want to give back in any helpful way they can.

There was an event with State of Maine involvement at the Augusta Civic Center.

And locally BARN, the Bangor Area Recovery Network, located in Brewer held a gathering where loved ones wrote names on the Black Balloons as an observation of their memories and with the hope that those lives lost are not forgotten.

Now you know the meaning of Black Balloon Day, and hopefully the more awareness of the issues and the more education we all are subject to, the fewer deaths there will be in the future.