Rockville Mayor and Council Proclaim September as National Recovery Month

In their ongoing fight to bring awareness to the national impact of opioid addiction and signal hope for recovery, Rockville’s Mayor and Council proclaimed September as National Recovery Month at their Monday, Aug. 1 meeting. Lights at City Hall, the Rockville City Police Department headquarters and other city and county facilities will once again shine purple throughout the month. The city will hold several events throughout September as part of Rockville Goes Purple, the city’s continuing campaign to highlight the nationwide impact and dangers of opioid addiction.

The theme of the campaign is “Opioids: Let’s Talk About It,” which encourages dialogue about, and openness around, the problems of opioid addiction, and awareness about the dangers of stigmatizing addiction. According to the Opioid Operational Command Center and Maryland Department of Health’s 2021 Second Quarter Report, 1,217 people died from opioid-related overdoses in the state through the second calendar quarter of 2021, a 1.1% increase compared to the first six months of 2020. Opioids were involved in 89.6% of all unintentional intoxication fatalities over that period. The Rockville City Police Department responded to 35 reports of heroin or opioid overdoses in 2021, a 52% increase from 2020, and three reports of heroin or opioid possession, a 66% decrease. There was one report of opioid sales.

Events Throughout the Month Will Include:

– Members of the Mayor and Council will attend the 7th Annual Montgomery County International Overdose Awareness Day and Resource Fair, which starts at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25 at the Memorial Plaza and County Executive Office Building, 101 Monroe St.

– Rockville Goes Purple will formally kick off 4:30 p.m.  Thursday, Sept. 8 with an outside “Behind the Mask” art project hosted by VisArts at the Rockville Town Square plaza stage, 131 Gibbs St.

– Members of the Rockville Mayor and Council and guests will speak, and attendees will be able to create art on two sides of a mask, representing the public and private aspects of addiction, and the need to discuss the struggle of addiction. The event will be led by an artist in recovery.

– A “Reframing Recovery” art project will be projected  from 8 p.m.-midnight, Thursday, Sept. 22-Monday, Sept. 26 on the windows of VisArts’ Studio 156, at 156 Gibbs St.

Other events will include a drug take-back day, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Rockville City Police Department parking lot at 2 W. Montgomery Ave., and trainings in the opioid overdose reversal drug Narcan.