Bronxites gather together for International Overdose Awareness Day on Thursday, Aug. 31 at Jacobi Medical Center.
Photo courtesy Alex Porco
Bronxites came together Thursday on International Overdose Awareness Day to honor those who died from overdoses, celebrate those who live in recovery and call for awareness and action.
One of the day’s events took place at Samaritan Daytop Village’s Richard Pruss Wellness Center at 510 Courtlandt Ave. in Mott Haven, which provides care for clients with behavioral needs through substance use programs, peer-based recovery services and primary medical care. The not-for-profit human services agency has more than 60 locations, one of which Michael K. Williams, who played the iconic character Omar on “The Wire” stayed at for six months.
Williams died at age 54 on Sept. 6, 2021, from an accidental overdose caused by cocaine and heroin that had been laced with fentanyl. Fentanyl was involved in 80% of overdose deaths in New York City in 2021, the most common substance involved in these deaths for the fifth year in a row, according to city data.
The late actor’s nephew Dominic Dupont said at the event Thursday that Williams wrote about the impact the program had on his life in his memoir “Scenes from My Life.” Dupont even had an opportunity to visit Williams during his uncle’s stay at the center.
He said that while his uncle’s death was tragic, it is an opportunity to bring awareness to supporting people with substance abuse.
“Sometimes I often hear Michael’s spirit saying to me: ‘I truly value every human life. I always want to make sure that we face stigma, whether it’s because of substance abuse, mental illness, homelessness, incarceration or any other reason. I want to make sure that people feel seen,’” Dupont said. ” … Folks dealing with substance abuse need help so that they don’t end up like the countless people that we have lost throughout the years.”
Bronxites had…
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