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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.

Advocates say community action has helped move the needle. “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,” said Dr. Tamara Olt, who lost her 16-year-old son to a heroin overdose in 2012 and now leads the […]

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 prisons without helping those struggling with substance use disorder.

A pre-Mother’s Day press conference featured mothers who have lost family members to overdose, who are asking lawmakers to change their approach. The mothers are asking lawmakers to stop the wave of harsh drug laws because they believe the answer to reducing overdose deaths is not filling prisons with those struggling with substance use disorder.

Words are important. They determine how we perceive and respond to our world. We should choose them carefully. This is why Broken No More agrees with International Overdose Awareness Day that the term Overdose, and not Poisoning, is the correct term for a drug-related death.

From a mother, Toni Torsch, who lost her son to overdose on why she opposes a proposed DIH law in Maryland: “The overdose epidemic has already caused enough harm. Our response must focus on compassion, care and proven solutions — not longer prison sentences. Drug-induced homicide laws are a flawed, punitive response that will only make things worse. Maryland can lead the way by rejecting these laws and focusing on solutions that save lives.”

A mother, Cara Wykowski, who lost her son to a fentanyl overdose explains she opposes punitive drug laws and, instead, supports Harm Reduction: “At first, Wykowski had an “abstinence-only” mindset when it came to drug use, but when she learned about harm reduction, she was finally able to give her son the help he would accept.”

An article and audio piece from KUNM about the 2024 GRASP Healing Hearts and Changing Pathways Conference. “The conference was split into two days on Sept. 13 and 14. The first focused on healing the grief and emotional trauma that can come up when dealing with addiction. The second focused on solutions to the crisis and how to improve the status quo.” The conference was put on by BNM with help from Vital Strategies, another nonprofit dedicated to fighting the opioid crisis.

“We all want to see a reduction in overdose deaths, but punishment is not the answer,” Dr. Tamara Olt, a mother from Peoria, Illinois who lost her 16-year-old son Josh to an opioid overdose in 2012, said at a recent news briefing.

“As long as we see people who use drugs as criminals, they’re not going to get the services and support that they need,” Ousterman said. “I never in a million years thought that I would be someone here advocating for decriminalization of drugs, but it’s a reality. These people are suffering. They need health [care], not jail.”