There is no doubt Rhode Island has an epidemic on its hands as the death toll for overdoses continues to rise year after year. Although the information is still being finalized already this year there has been more than 100 deaths due to overdose and more than 250 over the course of last year according to the Department of Health.

Nearly 1,2000 Rhode Islanders have died from accidental overdoses since 2011, more than those who have died from car crashes, firearms and fires in the same time.

These victims are so often stigmatized, suggesting that their own bad decisions led them there and so they are somehow unworthy of empathy. Compassion though is always called for especially for those individuals led down the path of addiction through a series of events outside the bounds of their control.

Addiction does not start with the stereotypical image of a junkie just looking for a fix, but with an injured athlete looking to get back into the game pain free, a young student with their wisdom teeth out prescribed more opioids than necessary. So many instances can begin a path to addiction and sadly also to overdose.

Medically we have come so far in being able to help these patients, from life saving Narcan, which can reverse the affects of an overdose, to proactive counseling and initiatives in an effort to help an individual before an overdose, acknowledging addiction as the disease it is.

One of the biggest hurdles to individuals looking for treatment is the stigma concerning addiction. Those addicted to opioids fear persecution should they step forward. Rather than getting the help they need, they are shamed.

Successful treatments are available. Unfortunately, there is a shadow surrounding them decreasing their accessibility to those suffering. Governor Raimondo and the state of Rhode Island has embarked on an ambitious action plan, released in May, that hopes to reduce overdose deaths by a third within the next three years. A multimedia campaign strives to raise awareness of addiction as well as the resources available to those suffering from addiction. The plan includes improved discharge requirements for those with substance abuse issues, insurers to provide more assistance on medication-assisted treatment, setting guidelines for prescribing opiods as well as pharmacies to upload dispensing data among others to curb overdoses.

To save more of our fellow Rhode Islanders, we must come forward in support of them, to offer our compassion before our judgment. So many of these accidental overdoses could have been prevented if only these individuals had access to the necessary resources. We must do better for our fellow Rhode Islanders, our friends and family moving forward.