City of Fernandina Beach and Nassau County Board of County Commissioners declare August 31st International Overdose Awareness Day

To read the Fernandina Beach City Commission news coverage in the Fernandina Observer, click here.

Yulee, Fla: On Tuesday, August 17^th, 2021, Amy Pipkin, Prevention Supervisor at Starting Point Behavioral Healthcare, accepted a Resolution from Fernandina Beach City Commissioners declaring August 31^st as International Overdose Awareness Day. One week later, on Monday, August 23^rd, the Nassau County Board of County Commissioners followed suit as they declared August 31^st, 2021 Overdose Awareness Day in Nassau County.

International Overdose Awareness Day is held each year on August 31^st. It is a day to raise awareness about overdose prevention, acknowledge and remember those who have died from an overdose and recognize the grief of family and friends who were left behind.

While accepting the Resolution from the Fernandina Beach City Commissioners, Pipkin said, “If we can’t save their lives, we can’t rehabilitate them”. Amy is a lifelong prevention specialist and spends the majority of her time delivering prevention programming in local elementary schools. The ‘Botvin Life Skills’ program is an evidence-based substance abuse and violence prevention program for children and teens. The program effectively reduces tobacco, alcohol, opioid, and illicit drug use.

Starting Point also provides substance use services for adults. Among others, the agency delivers a highly structured Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) program, which provides a medically managed approach to recovering from opiates or alcohol.

City Proclamation

County Proclamation

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About Starting Point Behavioral Healthcare

Starting Point Behavioral Healthcare provides mental health and substance abuse treatment services to children, teens and adults in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. The non-profit agency serves more than 3,000 individuals each year and has been serving the region for more than 29 years. Starting Point is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). For more information, please visit www.spbh.org.

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