Monday, August 31st, is International Overdose Awareness Day.

An event is being held at Spirit Square to mark the day.

It’s taking place from 11am to 2pm, with this year’s theme marking 25 years of remembrance, connection, and community action.

Organizers say the message is that overdose is still affecting people from every walk of life, with every loss having an impact on families, friends, and communities.

They are encouraging people from across the community to take part, learn more, speak openly about overdose, and support evidence-based solutions.

The Village Recovery House held an event last Thursday, hosted at the Comox Valley Art Gallery.

Figures released last week by the BC Coroners Service showed there were 138 deaths due to suspected unregulated drug toxicity in BC in June; about 4.6 deaths a day.

In the first six months of this year, deaths among people between 30 and 59 accounted for 68% of drug-toxicity deaths in the province, and 75% were male.

To learn more about the campaign, visit International Overdose Awareness Day.