YAKIMA, Wash. – The Yakima City Council and Triumph Treatment Services are joining forces to address the growing issue of drug overdoses in the community. The council will proclaim August 29 as Yakima’s official Overdose Awareness Day at their city council meeting tomorrow
This decision comes as overdose deaths in Yakima County have risen significantly. According to the Washington State Department of Health, 146 people died from drug overdoses last year, up from 96 in 2023, as reported by the Yakima County Coroner’s Office.
Kim Hitchcock, Clinical Director for Triumph Treatment Services’ Parent-Child Assistance Program, emphasized the widespread impact of these deaths.
“It’s not just that person. It is affecting somebody’s family. And those people are important, you know, or somebody’s mom, you know, they’re somebody’s loved one and they matter. People’s lives matter,” she said.
Yakima Mayor Patricia Byers shared her personal connection to the issue, recalling her brothers’ experiences with drug use.
“They went through this. We didn’t have an overdose, but we did have, you know, drug use and some of the consequences of that within the family. And so, I always remember that” Byers said.
Byers highlighted the pervasive nature of opioid addiction.
“It is something that impacts everybody in our community at every level, regardless of ethnicity, regardless of social status,” she said.
Both Hitchcock and Byers stressed the importance of educating the public as a preventative measure.
“It’s important for us to be aware that people are dying in our community, our nation. And how do we talk about that and raise awareness,” Hitchcock said.
“Every effort we make to educate people from the just from children all the way through adults about why this is such a critical issue, how it can affect them personally and how they can get help,” Byers added.
Triumph Treatment Services will launch Overdose Awareness Week on August 27 by lighting the Larson Building purple to honor those lost to overdoses. They will also host their ninth annual Overdose Awareness event on Friday, August 29.
The official proclamation will be made at the Yakima City Council meeting at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow.
