Vigil Remembers Overdose Victims In Camden County & Beyond

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Camden County leaders and residents commemorated International Overdose Awareness Day on Wednesday by holding a vigil and memorial at the Hope and Remembrance Memorial in Gloucester Township.

The events "are both an ever present reminder of the tragic impact opioid use disorder has had on our community," Camden County Commissioner Louis Cappelli Jr. told Patch.

Through July 31, 2022, the city of Camden and township of Cherry Hill have treated roughly 1,400 suspected overdoses, according to the Camden County Office of Mental Health and Addiction.

In all of 2021 throughout New Jersey, more than 3,000 people died of suspected overdoses, statewide data show.

The vigil and memorial also provided Camden County leaders and residents "the ability to continue to break down the stigma associated with [opioid use disorder]," Cappelli said. "We cannot forget every one of the souls that have left us because they were afflicted by this deadly disease."

A vigil with a similar purpose was also held Wednesday in Burlington County.

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