A candlelight vigil at the University of Miami honored the lives lost to drug overdoses on International Overdose Awareness Day.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 107,000 overdoses last year in the United States — the highest ever recorded since 2011.
Natalie Rollan is all too familiar with the alarming statistic. Her cousin, Yaritza Rollan, battled with opioid addiction for 10 years before overdosing in 2019.
“It was a really confusing time because she changed from the person I knew growing up," Rollan said. "She was this vibrant, beautiful young girl. She kind of went away from college and she was a completely different person ... she was just a bright light in this world and substance use disorder really changed her."
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In Florida, the health department reported more than 1,000 overdose deaths last year.
Thomas Guerra with the Miami Recovery Project helped organize Wednesday night’s vigil to bring awareness and education.
“My message is overdose is preventable; recovery is possible," said Guerra, who is also a recovering alcoholic. "We need to talk about it. We need to stop hiding, shying away from it. There’s a stigma associated with it and we want to let people know there is help."
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Help for addicts comes in many forms. Natalie says her family created an organization in Yaritza’s honor called YaYa Por Vida. Its mission is to help drug users overcome addiction and prevent overdose.
“This is an epidemic. People are going to use substances, but we want to be there to help and support any way that we can," Rollan said.
