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Author: Nigel Brunsdon

Families Urged Elected Officials to Expand Access to Lifesaving Overdose Prevention and Addiction Treatment Services, and Halt the Wave of Laws that Punish People who Struggle with Drugs

Written by Nigel Brunsdon on . Posted in Campaigns.

To mark International Overdose Awareness Day, families who have lost loved ones to overdose hosted a press conference on Aug. 26 urging lawmakers to prioritize health-based solutions that prevent these tragic losses. Through their powerful personal testimonies, the speakers called to halt and reverse the wave of harsh drug-related laws rather than helping those struggling with addiction.

For 25 years, communities and organizations across the globe have recognized International Overdose Awareness Day as a time to both honor loved ones who lost their lives to overdose and to raise awareness about the overdose crisis. This past year, around 70,000 lives were lost to overdose in the United States. More than 40% of people in the United States know someone who has died of an overdose.

Watch the press conference here.

This event was a call-to-action to end the failed drug war, which has filled U.S. prisons and jails with people who live with addiction for decades. An estimated one in five people in prison and jails are incarcerated due to a drug-related offense, the majority of whom are people of color.

“Black communities, communities of color, and poor communities have disproportionately carried the consequences of criminalization and incarceration. At a time when we are finally seeing overdose deaths decline, we should be investing even more in the strategies that are helping people stay alive, not taking those resources away,” said Kimberly Douglas, who lost her 17-year-old son Bryce. She is the Founder of Bryce’s Treehouse, a national effort supporting nonprofits advancing mental health and drug policy reform in communities of color. “Bryce is the reason I will continue to speak out and remind the world that behind every overdose statistic is a human being.”

Speakers also specifically addressed the harmful effect of drug-induced homicide laws, which undercut Good Samaritan Laws that provide people with legal immunity if they call emergency services in the event of an overdose.

“Someone used drugs with Jeffrey, and when things went wrong, they fled the scene rather than calling for help and staying behind. That’s why I am opposed to drug-induced homicide laws. Those laws only ensure that more sons and daughters will die alone when they could have been saved by giving a second chance at life. We need to shift our thinking so that our drug policies increase the chances of healing, rather than adding more trauma to the already traumatized,” said James Moore, who lost his son, Jeffrey, to an overdose. Since his loss, James has been a tireless advocate and is the founder of the Recovery Rides Bicycle Program, which partners with local treatment centers.

“All drug-induced homicide laws are going to do is put more men and women who have mental health problems in prison. It is going to take more poor people and more people of color and lock them up. Cages are not going to work. Care and compassion are the only ways to get through this,” said Aisha Betancourt Esquivel, Founder of the The Breanaland Foundation, which consists of four moms who have lost children, three to substance loss and one to suicide. Aisha lost her daughter BreAna in May 2019 as the result of substance use disorder.

To prevent other families from experiencing the devastating loss of those they love, speakers at the conference called on lawmakers to embrace life-affirming, evidence-based health responses proven to save lives. This includes expanding access to medications for opioid use disorder, increasing overdose prevention services, and distributing naloxone in communities that need it most.

“We need treatment on demand. We need access to life-saving medications like methadone and buprenorphine. What we’re currently seeing is a push to the abstinence-based model which is deadly, especially for people with opioid use disorder,” said Tamara Olt, M.D., Executive Director of Broken No More. Tamara lost her 16-year-old son Josh. “We know what works, so let’s stop putting people in prisons.”

During the powerful event, family members addressed stigma and the importance of having open conversations about addiction, overdose, and prevention.

“The stigma, society, medical professionals , the criminal justice system, all failed my brother. A lot of people I knew didn’t want to talk about addiction/overdose; parents didn’t talk about it, they were ashamed or were judged. Siblings would not talk about it, often because they did not want to take away from their parent’s pain. Not talking about these things—- this very real crisis happening to our loved ones—- further isolates families, deepens stigma and shame, and may prevent individuals/families from reaching out for life saving help. We need to show the overdose crisis is touching everyone’s lives,” said Kelly Sirianni, CPRP (Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Professional), CPDP (Certified Co-Occurring Disorder Professional), who lost her brother, Joey, to an overdose. She is an advocate for health-based solutions to the overdose crisis. “I really believe that harm reduction will save lives, and that we need more treatment focusing not only their struggle with this disease, but fostering hope within them, reminding them that their life does means something.”

Kimberly’s daughter, Indiyah Jackson, spoke to her experience of losing her brother Bryce and becoming an advocate with Bryce’s Treehouse. “For me, being involved with Bryce’s Treehouse has given me a way to really carry my brother’s legacy forward. There are so many young people who think overdose death can never touch their family or circle until it actually happens. I want people that are my age to understand that this crisis is closer to us than sometimes we may realize.” Indiyah said. “I want us to have honest conversations about what substance use is without shame or judgment attached to it.”

This event is organized by Broken No More, a group that, with support from sister organization Grief Recovery After Substance Passing (GRASP), helps thousands of families through the grief of losing their loved one to overdose. Broken No More families are organizing events across the country in honor of Overdose Awareness Day.

Broken No More’s Pre-Mother’s Day Press Conference

Written by Nigel Brunsdon on . Posted in Articles.

On the eve of Mother’s Day, moms who have been affected by the drug war and who have lost loved ones to overdose hosted a press conference calling on lawmakers to prioritize health-based solutions that prevent overdoses. They spoke out against harsh drug laws that aim to increase punishment and incarceration, leading to family separation and blocking access to lifesaving care and treatment.

During the powerful event, speakers shared how their families have been devastated by the multi-pronged harms of punitive drug policies. They shared their stories of losing children to fatal overdose, seeing children incarcerated instead of helped, and struggling to get access to treatment for their child.

“The tragedies that mothers endure due to the war on drugs are numerous,” said Tamara Olt, M.D., Executive Director of Broken No More. Tamara lost her 16-year-old son Josh. “People with problematic use should be treated with compassion and support, and not put in cages. …We’re fighting actively against criminalization and incarceration for drug offenses.”

In 2024, nearly 80,000 lives were lost to the overdose crisis in the United States, and the country continues to lead the world in incarcerating people for drug-related offenses. While overdose rates have decreased across all demographics, Black and Indigenous communities are still disproportionately affected by the overdose crisis.

“The war on drugs is not saving our children, it’s costing us our children. In Black communities, we’ve seen decades of over-policing and under-resourcing. Less access to treatment, less access to harm reduction, and more punishment instead of care. That’s why this is not just a public health issue, it’s a racial justice issue as well,” said Kimberly Douglas, who lost her 17-year-old son Bryce. She is the Founder of Bryce’s Treehouse, a national effort supporting nonprofits advancing mental health and drug policy reform in communities of color. She is also the founder of Black Moms Against Overdose, a support group for mothers who have lost children to overdose.

An estimated one in five people in prison and jails are incarcerated due to a drug-related offense.  In the two weeks following release from prison, people are 27 times more likely to experience a fatal opioid overdose.

“My older son got a felony charge for possession of marijuana when he was 20 years old; he spent 11 years cycling in and out of prison. Labeling him a criminal at such a young age created lifelong roadblocks, and it was a traumatic experience for our family. The drug war is a war waged against families,” said Gretchen Bergman, Co-Founder and Executive Director of A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing) and Lead Organizer of the international Moms United to End the War on Drugs campaign. She is the mother of 2 sons who are in long-term recovery from heroin addiction.

“Jail did not save my son, and policies that make people afraid to call for help during an overdose will not save someone else’s child,” said Joelle Fairchild, a harm reduction advocate and board member of the Harm Reduction Action Center in Denver. After losing her son, Tony, to a heroin overdose at age 27 in 2014, she has worked to advance compassionate, health-based solutions to the overdose crisis. “These deaths are preventable. We need compassion, we need evidence-based solutions. We need to stop treating this crisis as a crime, and start treating it as a matter of life and death.”

Speakers at the press conference also called on lawmakers to expand access to medications for opioid use disorders, including buprenorphine and methadone, which are proven to save lives.

“I was so scared of being in prison. Having access to medicine in there and knowing I had a doctor who cared so much got me through. The medicine just helped me so much mentally,”  said Tami Decker, an advocate who spoke about how substance use and her time incarcerated affected her and her family’s life. “My youngest twin is going to be married in November, and I’m going to get to see this. I’m gonna be sober to see this.”

“Addiction is a treatable health condition. What works is voluntary, low-barrier care, treatment that’s rooted in science, delivered with compassion, and centered on the person,” said Pattie Vargas, a Compassionate Bereavement Care™ Provider and Kessler Certified Grief Educator who facilitates support groups and one-on-one coaching through The Partnership to End Addiction and The Happier Life Project. She is also the author of Secrets, Scars and Heart Shaped Jars. “If we want to truly address substance use in this country, we have to change the narrative. This is not a moral failure. It’s a community health issue, and it requires a compassionate community response. We cannot arrest our way out of this.”

This event is organized by Broken No More, a group that, with support from sister organization Grief Recovery After Substance Passing (GRASP), helps thousands of mothers through the grief of overdose loss.

Parents and Others Who Have Lost Loved Ones to Overdose Condemn Classification of Fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction

Written by Nigel Brunsdon on . Posted in Position Statements.

On December 15, the Trump administration, through an executive order, classified fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction (WMD), casting those who use and sell fentanyl as purveyors of a hazardous, toxic substance in the same class as Anthrax and Ricin. While the ramifications of this classification are unclear, the designation itself has the power to cause irreparable harm by contributing to the stigma and dehumanization of people who use drugs, fueling misinformation about fentanyl, and diverting needed resources and legislative attention away from proven solutions to the overdose crisis.

As people who have lost loved ones to overdose, we know firsthand the harms of stigma and fearmongering language. The framing of fentanyl as a WMD will reinforce the existing fear and hostility toward people who use fentanyl and other substances. Those who use drugs will be seen not just as disposable, but as active threats to people and those they love by bringing a WMD into their communities. Because of this fear, public health solutions to fentanyl and the overdose crisis will be further undermined and overshadowed, leaving those who use drugs without help, and more will die.

The potential public policy harms of this decision are extensive. The fear and misinformation surrounding fentanyl and the people who use it were already immense, fueling false claims and panic. Among them are the inaccurate assertions that fentanyl is instantly addictive, which has led people to refuse its use in medical procedures, and that incidental contact with fentanyl will cause an overdose. Framing fentanyl as a WMD will undoubtedly escalate this fearmongering and misinformation, making it impossible to adopt rational, science-based policies that would actually save lives.

This executive order reinforces the Trump administration’s position that harm reduction programs – proven services that help people who use drugs stay healthy, alive, and connected to people who care about them – are antithetical to the health and safety of the citizens of this country. It will provide those at the state and local levels who want a more punitive and militarized response to drug use with a potent justification for implementing these policies.

To truly protect Americans from the overdose crisis, we call on lawmakers to invest in health-based solutions proven to help people stay alive, including access to naloxone, drug checking, overdose prevention centers, and life-saving medications. To combat misguided and dangerous policies, we urge lawmakers to base their decisions on facts, evidence, and science, not on fallacious and fearmongering rhetoric of fentanyl as a WMD.

Not In Our Name

Written by Nigel Brunsdon on . Posted in Campaigns.

Drug-induced homicide (DIH) laws charge people with murder, with sentences of 20 years to life in prison, for simply selling, providing, or even sharing drugs with someone who then dies of an overdose. Often, those arrested are the friends, family, or partners of those who have died. These laws make people fearful of calling for help during an overdose and, because of this fear, lives are lost.

Join us in demanding our lawmakers oppose drug-induced homicide laws.

Digital Storytelling for Advocacy: Using Social Media Videos to Advance Health-Based Drug Policies

Written by Nigel Brunsdon on . Posted in Guides.

Intended for those who have lost their loved ones to overdose, these training materials from Broken No More detail how to use your story to create moving social media videos to advocate for health-based drug policies.

This document:

  • Guides bereaved family members to create 1–2 minute face-to-camera advocacy videos
  • Helps structure personal stories with a clear message and call to action (health over punishment)
  • Focuses on countering punitive drug laws, particularly drug-induced homicide laws
  • Provides practical tips for filming, delivery, and handling public responses
  • Encourages solutions-focused language highlighting harm reduction and medications for opioid use disorder

Download Training Materials

Broken No More International Overdose Awareness Day Press Conference with Families who Lost Loved Ones to Overdose

Written by Nigel Brunsdon on . Posted in Articles.

Press Conference Video: International Overdose Awareness Day Press Conference with Families who Lost Loved Ones to Overdose

August 27: Families Urged Elected Officials to Expand Access to Lifesaving Overdose Prevention and Addiction Treatment Services, and Halt the Wave of Harmful Drug Laws

To mark International Overdose Awareness Day, families who have lost loved ones to overdose held a press conference on Aug. 27, urging lawmakers to prioritize health-based solutions that prevent these tragic losses. They called to halt and reverse the wave of harsh drug laws and criminalization, which they say will not reduce overdose deaths but will continue to fill our prisons without helping those struggling with substance use disorder.

The featured speakers included bereaved mothers from across the United States who have lost loved ones to overdose. Their call-to-action is for lawmakers to embrace life-affirming, evidence-based health responses proven to save lives and prevent other families from experiencing the devastating loss of those they love.

View press conference

“We want sane drug policies. We want drug policies that focus on health and education, and we take a step back from criminalization, from the failed war on drugs, which we know, after billions of dollars, 40 years of incarcerating people, putting them in cages, shoving them into back alleys, it doesn’t work,” said Tamara Olt, M.D., Executive Director of Broken No More. Tamara lost her 16-year-old son Josh. “We’re here to stand up today and say ‘enough’ and to advocate for the things that work, like harm reduction, naloxone distribution, healthcare, dignity, respect: all the things that will keep our people alive, engage them in care, engage them to care about themselves, and to take care of each other.”

The speakers advocated against harsh drug laws that aim to increase punishment and incarceration, forcing people into dangerous withdrawal and blocking access to care and treatment.

“Right now, some politicians and law enforcement are using this crisis to push the same old failed drug war policies, like long mandatory sentences and drug-induced homicide charges. These do not save lives. They fill prisons, they target Black and poor communities, and they make the overdose crisis worse,” said Kimberly Douglas, Founder of Black Moms Against Overdose, a support group for moms who have lost children to overdose. Kimberly lost her 17-year-old son, Bryce, to an overdose. “Our prisons are full of people who need healing, not punishment. We want compassion, care, and proven solutions.”

Though people of all races and ethnicities use and sell drugs at similar rates, Black people, communities of color, and poor people are disproportionately harmed due to targeted enforcement.

“Simply put, we cannot continue our failed practices of disempowering those that are most at risk of overdose, of removing resources from them, and isolating them, and making it harder for them to take care of themselves,” said Jessie Dunleavy, an advocate for drug policy reform who lost her 34-year-old son, Paul, to an overdose. “Our challenges right now seem greater than ever, but it’s all the more reason to keep up our efforts to promote common sense, proven initiatives.”

Speakers also implored lawmakers to expand access to medications for opioid use disorder, increase overdose prevention services, distribute naloxone in communities that need it most, and provide evidence-based drug education for youth and adults.

“I’m bringing awareness and also sharing resources with other families, faith leaders, community organizers, and anyone to let them know that naloxone should be carried not only in your home, but also in your car. Carry it everywhere because you have that power to save a life, and a life is worth saving,” said Anita Garrett, a Milwaukee advocate who lost her 31-year-old son, Sammie. “No mother should ever have to live with the pain of knowing that their child was left alone in their final moments. That pain is something that I carry with me every day, but I have chosen to turn my pain into purpose.”

Here is a powerful video that features Anita Garrett for the “You Have the Power to Save Lives” campaign, which has partnered with community groups and local governments to increase the availability of free naloxone, especially in Black communities.

“It costs less to provide harm reduction services to a person than it does to keep them incarcerated for a year,” said Aisha Betancourt Esquivel, Founder of the #breanaland project, which is currently partnered with Live4Lali. Aisha lost her daughter, BreAna. “We need to educate more people on overdose prevention sites. They’re not just, ‘hey, come over here, let’s do drugs.’ There’s connection there, there’s community there, there’s humanity there. They’re just helping them out to stay alive until they’re ready to make a change.”

This event was held leading up to International Overdose Awareness Day, which takes place on Aug. 31. Communities and organizations across the globe recognize this day as a time to both honor loved ones who lost their lives to overdose and to raise awareness about the overdose crisis. During the press conference, an important video created by the public health organization Vital Strategies was shared, honoring lives lost to overdose.

The press conference was organized by Broken No More, a group that, with support from sister organization Grief Recovery After Substance Passing (GRASP), helps thousands of families through the grief of losing their loved one to overdose. The organization launched an active group of more than 50 parents who are engaging with media and policy advocacy, and a broader network of hundreds subscribed through emails and newsletters who support the work of Broken No More. It also featured Kimberly Douglas of Black Moms Against Overdose, a group that offers support and community for moms who have lost children to overdose.

In November 2024, Broken No More released testimonial videos sharing families’ love, pain, and loss, and explaining why they support health solutions to the overdose crisis. The videos end with the message, “Families Support Harm Reduction, Not Prison. Say Yes to Policies that Work.”

About Broken No More

Broken No More is an organization formed by families and friends of those suffering from a substance use disorder. We have lived the trauma of addiction with our loved ones and we have experienced the devastating effects caused by the drug policies of prohibition and criminalization. Far too many of us have experienced the loss of a loved one from overdose because of these policies. Broken No More was formed with the mission of supporting and promoting more enlightened drug policies that will reduce the stigma of drug use and keep other parents and family members from losing the one they love to overdose. Through the formation of its Advocacy Group, Broken No More has increased its ability to respond to punitive policy proposals.

Learn more at broken-no-more.org.

USA Today – These mothers lost children to opioid overdoses. On Mother’s Day, they offer a new approach.

Advocacy 101: Tools for Everyday Advocates

Written by Nigel Brunsdon on . Posted in Guides.

For anyone wishing to use their voice and story to advance change, this training from Broken No More in collaboration with Vital Strategies and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator outlines action steps, tools, and lessons for achievable advocacy actions.

This training document:

  • Introduces a clear 4-stage advocacy framework: Analyze, Collaborate, Advocate, Sustain
  • Explains how to identify policy goals, decision-makers, and potential champions
  • Provides templates for crafting concise key messages and defining a clear “ask”
  • Offers practical guidance for meetings with lawmakers, including preparation and follow-up
  • Encourages using personal stories strategically to influence policy and defend programmes against cuts

Download Training Materials

Our 2025 Pre-Mother’s Day Press Conference

Written by Nigel Brunsdon on . Posted in Videos.

On the eve of Mother’s Day, moms who have lost loved ones to overdose urged lawmakers to prioritize health-based solutions that prevent overdoses and to halt the wave of harsh drug laws that they say will not reduce overdose deaths but will instead fill our prisons without helping those struggling with substance use disorder. The May 7th press conference featured moms from across the United States who have lost loved ones to overdose.

During the moving press conference, bereaved mothers shared their stories and advocated for proven investments in health alternatives that can save lives.

“I have spent the last 13 Mother’s Days missing a piece of my heart. My 16-year-old son, Joshua, died of a heroin overdose on April 29th, 2012. I believe that taking a public health approach that seeks to support, not punish, people who use drugs is crucial to ending the overdose crisis,” said Tamara Olt, M.D., Executive Director of Broken No More.

Broken No More would like to thank our panelists who participated in the press conference:

  • Tamara Olt, MD., Executive Director of Broken No More. Tamara lost her 16-year-old son Josh. (Illinois)
  • Anita Garrett, a Milwaukee advocate, lost her 31-year-old son, Sammie. (Wisconsin)
  • Kimberly Douglas, who lost her 17-year-old son, Bryce. She is the Founder of Black Moms Against Overdose, a support group for moms who have lost children to overdose. (Maryland)
  • Sarah Couper, PMHPN-BC, lost her 19-year-old son, Maxwell. (Florida)
  • Cara Wykowski lost her 31-year-old son, Eric. (California)

Sign the Letter: Families with Loved Ones Lost to Overdose Call on Trump and Congress to Prioritize Health Over Punishment

Written by Nigel Brunsdon on . Posted in Articles.

Every day, we wake up missing someone we love. We are the parents and family members grieving loved ones lost to overdose. This crisis takes nearly 90,000 lives each year in the U.S. The pain can feel unbearable, and we don’t want others to suffer the same devastating loss

We are fighting to save lives, so no other parent or family member has to bury their loved one and endure the pain and grief of this horrific loss. Please don’t let another family join our ranks. Save lives by prioritizing public health over punishment. Thousands of families are counting on you.

This letter and its list of signatories are public, thus ensuring it reaches the media and, consequently, the decision-makers who have the power to implement lifesaving policies. Your support can help create the momentum needed to bring about real, positive change. Please stand with us in this vital movement to save lives and transform how we respond to the overdose crisis. Sign the letter today and be a part of the solution.

Harm reduction, not border cops, credited for historic drop in US overdose deaths

Written by Nigel Brunsdon on . Posted in External Articles.

Dr. Tamara Olt, executive director of the advocacy group Broken No More, lost her 16-year-old son to a heroin overdose in 2012. She said the steep drop in deaths validates years of advocacy for a public health approach. “We believe that taking a public health approach that seeks to support — not punish — people who use drugs is crucial to ending the overdose crisis,” she said.