By Melissa Moore-Randall
The First Annual Revere Overdose Memorial will be held on Wednesday, August 31 at Leach Park, 56 Leverett Avenue, beginning at 7 p.m. This year the SUDHI (Substance Use Disorder and Homeless Initiatives) Office will be merging the Revere Beach Memorial and honoring International Overdose Awareness Day into one event. The Revere Beach Memorial was previously organized and hosted by MGH RevereCares and the RBM Committee.
Office, speaks at a previous event remembering those lost to overdoses.
According to their website, “International Overdose Awareness Day, the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose and remember those lost, acknowledges the grief of loved ones left behind, and reduces the stigma of drug-related deaths. The campaign raises awareness of overdose, one of the world’s worst public health crises, and stimulates action and discussion about evidence-based overdose prevention and drug policy. Most importantly, it hopes to show that a fatal drug overdose is preventable. In 2021, more than 107,000 people in the US died of drug-related poisoning, and as we continue to lose people in record numbers, the cause is more important than ever.â€
In 2019, the Substance Use Disorder & Homeless Initiatives Office along with Programs Manager, Nikki Silvestri, began working with Ward One City Councillor, Joanne McKenna, to plant a tree in Leach Park to memorialize the hundreds of Revere residents who have lost their lives due to fatal drug overdoses. It also looked to create a space for families and friends to remember their loved ones.
However, as the planning process evolved, the SUDHI Office and Councillor McKenna agreed that there was a need to expand the improvements to include the entire property and create an open space for the community that can be utilized and enjoyed by the neighborhood.
“Leach Park has been neglected since deemed an unbuildable lot by FEMA from the destruction of Blizzard of 1978. After years of being an empty lot, the land was made into a green space for the neighborhood to enjoy. But much needed work and money was needed for this park to reach its potential.Nicole Silvestri approached me and asked if she could make Leach Park into a space for families to memorialize their loved ones who had succumbed to overdoses. At first, I was a little apprehensive because there had been extensive partying at the park at all hours of the night and it was compromising the residents quality of life. With the presence of the Revere Police and a camera set on a pole overlooking the park, the partying stopped. Nicole’s creative vision is to make this an Aesthetically pleasing Memorial Park for all to enjoy and to honor their loved ones,†said Councillor McKenna.
As part of the planned park renovation, a local 501(c) (3) nonprofit called Just a Little Help Burial Fund, will be selling memorial brick pavers to be installed in the pathway of the new park. Just a Little Help is a charity founded by Debbie Hanscom. Hanscom lost her son, Joseph L. Hanscom, on September 18, 2013. After receiving an unsolicited and anonymous donation to alleviate some of the costs for Joe’s funeral arrangements and having gone through the loss of a loved one, Debbie started the charity to provide financial assistance to other families who have had an unexpected loss of a loved one due to a fatal drug overdose.
If anyone would like to add a name and/or photo to the perpetuity list online, please visit www.tinyURL.com/RevereOverdoseMemorial before 8/26 or in person the day of the event from 6-6:45. You can also contact Nikki Silvestri at [email protected] for more information.
