A sign campaign to raise awareness about the opioid crisis has spread across the Commonwealth.
The campaign started in Wrentham, Massachusetts, with lawn signs popping up around town that say "#2069." This was the number of opioid deaths in the Commonwealth in 2016.
Deacon Ron Tibbetts of Trinity Episcopal Church in Wrentham, along with an outreach church committee, came up with this campaign to bring attention to the epidemic. People began to ask about the signs and their meaning. Word spread, and now towns across New England are requesting signs for their communities.
All of this comes amid a glimmer of hope in the fight against the opioid epidemic in Massachusetts, as new state data shows that the number of opioid deaths fell by five percent in the first half of last year. But officials have cautioned against applauding even the smallest decline, as overdose numbers remain high.
Tibbetts tells WGBH’s Morning Edition Host Joe Mathieu that, like many faith communities, many members of his parish have lost loved ones to overdoses. He says the idea came about because he asked parish outreach committee members, “how can we be more relevant in our own community?”
To listen to the entire interview between Deacon Ron Tibbetts and WGBH’s Joe Mathieu click on the audio player above.
