Photo: Jay Willett / WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Hundreds of people marched through downtown Boston on Thursday to demonstrate the importance and power of addiction recovery.
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September is National Recovery Month and to recognize it, the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR) hosted a march from the Parkman Bandstand, past Park Street Station, all the way to Schubert Theatre.
A number of speakers kicked off the march, including Boston Public Health Commission Executive Director Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, who broke down the numbers on the current state of the opioid epidemic.
“Across the state of Massachusetts, there has been a 10 percent decrease in overdose mortality,” Ojikutu said. Despite the positive outlook for the state, the City of Boston does not fit the same mold. Ojikutu said opioid related deaths have increased in Boston by about 12 percent in the last year.
“You have a lot of people who are unknowingly taking opioids... but it is not a tragedy that we cannot reverse,” Oijkutu added.
Photo: Jay Willett / WBZ NewsRadio
“You have a lot of people who are unknowingly taking opioids... but it is not a tragedy that we cannot reverse,” Oijkutu added.
A number of organizations that benefitted financially from a recent federal lawsuit on opioids were in attendance.
Speakers took the opportunity to educate on access to Narcan, an overdose prevention tool, and what options people have legally when they’re denied housing based on appearance, race, or identity.
“Everyone is covered by one or more of the fair housing laws, everybody!” said Boston Fair Housing Outreach Manager Zakiya Alake said.
WBZ NewsRadio's Jay Willett (@JayWillettWBZ) reports.
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