Morris County marks 25th International Overdose Awareness Day, honors longtime advocate
MORRIS PLAINS BOROUGH, N.J. (Morris County) — Morris County officials joined families who have lost loved ones to overdoses, people in recovery and community service providers at the Morris County Human Services Complex, One Medical Drive in Morris Plains, to mark the 25th International Overdose Awareness Day and renew efforts to prevent overdose deaths.
The ceremony was held outside the Human Services Complex, where photographs and memorial banners honored people who died from overdoses.
This year’s observance also paid tribute to Carol Egan, a longtime local advocate in the fight against the opioid and fentanyl crisis who died earlier this year.
“Carol was here from the beginning, and she stood on this very spot to lead the remembrance of those that we have lost,” said Morris County Commissioner Christine Myers. “She gave families remarkable hope and the courage to grieve together. The best way we can honor her memory is to continue what she started, to show up, to serve, to never stop believing that recovery is possible for every person.”
Organized by the Morris County Division of Community and Behavioral Health Services, the ceremony marked the seventh consecutive year the county has observed Overdose Awareness Day on the lawn of the Human Services Complex.
State Sen. Anthony Bucco, who sponsored legislation designating Aug. 31 as Overdose Awareness Day in New Jersey, served as emcee and led a tribute to Egan.
He was joined by Chloe Finnerty, 17, whose brother, Justin, died from an overdose in 2016. Finnerty attended Morris County’s inaugural Overdose Awareness Day ceremony in 2020 with her mother, Rebecca, who spoke about losing her son to a heroin overdose.
“Addiction doesn’t define who you are,” said Finnerty, now 17. “There’s so much more to people than their struggles.”
Bucco also recognized Kathleen Hyland, who worked alongside Egan for more than three decades to combat addiction and overdoses. Egan and Hyland helped establish New Jersey’s first Municipal Alliance in 1990 and develop substance prevention programs in Morris Township and Morristown.
“While we feel Carol’s absence, the work she believed in continues,” said Sen. Bucco. “And there is no better way to honor her legacy than to carry that work forward.”
New Jersey recorded 1,312 suspected overdose deaths in 2025, a 27% decrease from 2024 and more than a 50% decline from the pandemic-era peak of 3,047 in 2021, according to statistics cited by the county from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Fatal drug overdoses in Morris County are declining. This is worth celebrating,” said Morris County Sheriff James Gannon. “It tells us that our collective efforts, education, outreach, treatment and support are making a difference. But it also reminds us that our work is far from over, and every single loss is one too many.”
Morris County has responded to the opioid crisis through programs including Hope One, Hope Hub, Community Connections, the Hope Wing at the Morris County Correctional Facility and Navigating Hope, a mobile outreach partnership between the Morris County Department of Human Services and Family Promise of Morris County.
Since launching in 2017, Hope One has made approximately 77,000 community contacts and provided 14,886 trainings on the emergency use of naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses, according to the county. Gannon said the program has recorded 196 lives saved through those trainings and generated more than 2,300 referrals to services. Hope One has since been replicated in nine other New Jersey counties.
Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Kelly represented the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office and discussed its approach of connecting people struggling with addiction to treatment and recovery services while investigating and prosecuting those accused of distributing dangerous narcotics.
Kelly also highlighted the Morris County Recovery Court program, which provides treatment and support to people charged with certain offenses related to addiction.
The ceremony included memorial banners featuring the names and photographs of Morris County residents who died from overdoses and are listed on the Drug Epidemic Memorial, an international virtual memorial whose creation was spearheaded by Egan.
Family members and people in recovery also shared their experiences. Maria Stoker spoke about losing her son Thomas to an overdose in 2023. Carmine Pizzo, who now works with Market Street Mission, discussed his journey from addiction and homelessness to recovery, while Timothy Gulick, a certified peer recovery specialist with Prevention Is Key, spoke about addiction, recovery and stigma.
“The first Overdose Awareness Day I ever attended, I heard a sister talk about her brother. And I will never forget what she said. She said, ‘My brother did not die from an overdose; he died from shame,’” said Gulick. “The statement has never left me.”
The program opened with a prayer from Rabbi Inna Serebro-Litvak of Temple Shalom in Roxbury Township and concluded with a prayer from Pastor Chuck Corradino of Butler Church of the Nazarene.
Morris County held its first Overdose Awareness Day ceremony in 2020, when a weeping cherry tree was planted at the site in memory of those who have died from addiction and overdose.
“Each year, as the cherry tree blossoms and grows, it reminds us that renewal is possible. There is life after loss, and the work we do together matters,” said Myers.
