Overdose awareness in August: dates and respectful action

Month, week, and day: what is verified?

The annual international observance is August 31. CDC and Penington Institute's campaign resources confirm that date. Penington Institute coordinates the international campaign; its website is the place to check current campaign materials and event information.

End Overdose describes its own August 2026 campaign as Overdose Awareness Month. This establishes organizational use of the name, not a universal federal designation for the whole month. SAMHSA also maintains an Overdose Awareness Week toolkit. The exact 2026 week date range has not been verified for this guide, so it is deliberately not printed here.

When preparing a flyer, name the particular observance and its source. Keep your local event's date and time separate. An event held earlier in August can support the campaign without suggesting that the international day has moved.

Sources: CDC: International Overdose Awareness Day toolkit · Penington Institute: official IOAD campaign resources · End Overdose: its August 2026 awareness campaign · SAMHSA: Overdose Awareness Week

Choose a purpose before choosing a format

The official IOAD event guide describes both remembrance and educational activities. Decide which purpose you can support well. A quiet remembrance and a practical training session need different facilitation, expectations, and support arrangements; do not advertise one and unexpectedly deliver the other.

You might offer a resource display, host an information session with an appropriately qualified provider, or make a quiet space for optional remembrance. Check the official campaign resources for current materials. These examples are ways to organize information and participation, not evidence that an event will change a clinical outcome.

Sources: Penington Institute: IOAD event tips · Penington Institute: official IOAD campaign resources

A small-event checklist that protects privacy

Use these editorial checks before announcing an activity. Keep the completed checklist about the event, not the people attending. It should never become a register of who has experienced substance use, overdose, or loss.

• Purpose and scope: say whether the activity is remembrance, public education, or training. Identify the facilitator and avoid overstating their qualifications.
• Access: verify the venue, seating, step-free access, bathroom access, timing, and a non-digital way to obtain the resource list.
• Participation: let visitors listen, leave, or decline to speak without explanation. Do not require a personal story to attend.
• Permission: agree in advance how photographs, names, recordings, and tributes will be handled. Do not reuse private messages as public testimonials.
• Resources: open every link and check the destination's audience, location, current hours, and stated costs. Separate general information from emergency help.
• Response arrangements: identify who will handle an emergency and use qualified providers for response training. An awareness display is not a substitute for emergency planning.
• Follow-up: improve the resource list and correct broken details. Do not retarget visitors or infer health information from attendance.

Write an invitation that does not turn loss into promotion

A straightforward invitation can say: 'August 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day. We are offering an optional space for remembrance and a table of official education resources. You are welcome to take information without sharing your story.' Adapt the wording to the activity you can actually provide.

Leave out shocking images, unverified impact numbers, required testimonials, and promises that attendance will prevent an overdose. Do not place an affiliate offer or donation pressure beside a remembrance. If you use campaign artwork, follow the source's terms; an independent event should not imply that the campaign organizer endorses its host.

After August 31, keep the practical resource available

A modest next step is to keep the verified contact list available and give someone responsibility for checking it again. Remove expired event details, confirm any local training schedule before sharing it, and retain a plain description of what each service does.

An awareness article cannot determine whether someone is experiencing an overdose or replace emergency care. For current response information, use CDC's official guidance and qualified local training. The emergency notice on this page is intentionally separate from event-planning ideas.

Sources: CDC: What to Do If You Think Someone Is Overdosing

Common questions

Sources and related reading

Primary-source dates and education are cited below. The planning examples are original editorial suggestions, not validated clinical interventions. Source checking is separate from qualified clinical review.

• CDC: International Overdose Awareness Day toolkit
• End Overdose: its August 2026 awareness campaign
• SAMHSA: Overdose Awareness Week
• Penington Institute: official IOAD campaign resources
• Penington Institute: IOAD event tips
• CDC: What to Do If You Think Someone Is Overdosing

Related awareness guides

• August 21: Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day

For organizations considering online screening, see the free screening-implementation safety checklist. It is a technical planning resource, not permission to administer an instrument or a clinical endorsement.