Thanksgiving is a day set aside to reflect and show gratitude for the life we have to live and for the people, places and things that we share it with.
Unique among the holidays, Thanksgiving emphasizes and strengthens our bonds through a shared meal-without gifts and lights and trees and such. There is great joy to be found in this. But sometimes we are most grateful for time spent with someone that is no longer with us. It is with a hole in our hearts that we notice the empty space at a crowded table.
Too many Americans have lost loved ones to the opioid epidemic. Those numbers have increased annually for years. This year we are seeing a decrease in opioid deaths. Preliminary data show a 3% decrease in deaths from 2022 to 2023. More recent data show opioid related deaths in the first 6 months of 2024 was 70,655 compared to 86,401 in the first half of 2023. It is reported that deaths due to opioid overdose has decreased nationally for the twelfth consecutive month.
