Deputy Director Space read a proclamation recognizing Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, as International Overdose Awareness Day and urged residents to remember those lost and support people affected by opioid use disorder.
The proclamation described the county’s overdose fatality review team’s work to identify preventable risk factors and said the county’s opioid settlement fund initiatives support prevention, treatment and recovery programs.
Lisa, speaking after the proclamation, described the county’s next-of-kin interviews conducted by the overdose fatality review team and urged community support for memorial and prevention work. “For our overdose fatality review team, Sussex County does their own next of kin interviews where we speak to the families of the people who have died from an overdose,” Lisa said, adding that those interviews inform the team’s recommendations.
Lisa also said the county funds prevention programs, resilience-building activities for children, prevention programming for older adults and community-agency support “to get the word out on all the great resources that we've provided and had access to.”
The proclamation was read in open session and recorded in the public meeting transcript; the public record does not show a separate recorded vote on the proclamation in the public portion of the transcript.