Every 2½ days, another Sonoma County resident dies from an overdose. The toll—about 12 lives a month—has made the county the third highest in the Bay Area for overdose mortality. Behind each number is an empty chair at a dinner table, a birthday missed, a voicemail never returned.
On Aug. 30, the community will gather at 1430 Neotomas Avenue in Santa Rosa for Overdose Awareness Day, a free event designed to honor those lost and equip the living. From 1 to 4 p.m., the day will feature music, art, food, a lowrider display from the Latin Rollers Car Club, and a lineup of speakers sharing personal stories.
Public health workers will offer demonstrations on how to use Narcan (naloxone), the nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose, and how to test substances with fentanyl strips. Free Narcan kits will be distributed to attendees, part of a push to normalize overdose response knowledge as widely as CPR…