{"id":77176,"date":"2025-08-26T09:15:22","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T08:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ascert.biz\/?p=77176"},"modified":"2025-08-26T11:57:33","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T10:57:33","slug":"belfast-city-hall-to-light-up-purple-for-international-overdose-awareness-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/belfast-city-hall-to-light-up-purple-for-international-overdose-awareness-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Belfast City Hall to Light Up Purple for International Overdose Awareness Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 31st August 2025, Belfast City Hall will be illuminated in purple as part of International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD), a global initiative to raise awareness, honour the lives lost to overdose, and support those impacted. ASCERT, Northern Ireland\u2019s leading drug and alcohol charity, will join a worldwide movement calling for action to end preventable deaths.<\/span><\/p>\n

International Overdose Awareness Day is the world\u2019s largest campaign to end overdose. It aims to raise awareness of the risks, reduce stigma, and acknowledge the grief felt by families and friends. Each year, people across the globe hold events, share stories, and advocate for change under the banner that <\/span>overdose is preventable – when we act<\/i><\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

ASCERT\u2019s Chief Executive, Gary McMichael, said:<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cBehind every statistic is a person, a son, daughter, friend or neighbour. Lighting City Hall purple is about shining a light on the devastating impact of overdose in our community, but also on the fact that this crisis is preventable. We can\u2019t afford to ignore it. We must come together to save lives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Scale of the Problem in Northern Ireland<\/b><\/p>\n

Recent figures from the <\/span>Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA<\/b>) reveal the continuing scale of drug-related deaths. In 2023, there were <\/span>169 drug-related deaths<\/b>, a 47% increase compared to a decade ago. Men accounted for approximately two-thirds of these deaths, with the highest rates among 25-34-year-olds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Opioids were the most common substances mentioned in deaths (103 cases), while Pregabalin was the most frequently named specific drug (67 cases). Almost three-quarters (74.6%) of drug-related deaths involved two or more drugs, and Belfast recorded the highest number of deaths (63).<\/span><\/p>\n

These figures are a stark reminder that drug-related harms continue to impact individuals, families, and communities throughout Northern Ireland<\/span><\/p>\n

ASCERT\u2019s Commitment<\/b>
\n<\/span>Founded in 1998, ASCERT provides free, confidential support for young people, adults, and families affected by alcohol or drug use. With offices in Belfast, Lisburn, and Omagh, ASCERT delivers prevention, intervention, and training services regionally.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gary McMichael said that IOAD isn\u2019t just about remembering those we\u2019ve lost, it\u2019s also about taking action to help stop it from happening again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that criminalising drug use hasn\u2019t worked. We need compassionate, evidence-based responses, better access to healthcare, and community-wide action. International Overdose Awareness Day is a moment for all of us to stand together and say: we can and must prevent these deaths.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

ASCERT is inviting the public to mark International Overdose Awareness Day by visiting Belfast City Hall on the evening of 31st August to see the purple illumination, share the message online using <\/span>#IOAD2025 <\/b>and take the opportunity to learn more about overdose prevention.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information, visit <\/span>www.ascert.biz<\/b><\/a> or call <\/span>0800 2545 123<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On 31st August 2025, Belfast City Hall will be lit purple for International Overdose Awareness Day, uniting with a global movement to honour lives lost, raise awareness, and call for action to prevent future tragedies. ASCERT, Northern Ireland\u2019s leading drug and alcohol charity, is urging communities to stand together in compassion, remembrance, and hope.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4915,"featured_media":77177,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,272],"tags":[441],"class_list":["post-77176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-news","tag-ioad2025"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4915"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}