The Sun Will Rise Weekly Update

Week of August 18, 2024

Hello Friends,

We have four in-person regular groups, one in-person specialty group, one regular zoom group and one specialty zoom groups this week. Login and location info. follow at the bottom of this newsletter.

GRIEF CONFERENCE:

Registration for the 2024 SADOD Finding Support in Grief Conference is open! I am excited to be presenting the session, Remembering Lives, Sharing Stories: An Interactive Grief Workshop and chairing both the Glow Stick Ceremony on Sunday and the Swag Bags for conference attendees. This is the third year for the conference and I have come to see that attending a grief conference for people bereaved due to substance use-related causes offers unique benefits. It provides a space where your experiences are understood and validated by others who have faced similar losses. Speakers share insights into coping strategies and the specific challenges associated with substance use-related grief, helping you learn and grow. The connections made at these conferences can form a supportive community that offers ongoing comfort and encouragement. Sharing your story and hearing others’ can be powerful steps in healing, reinforcing that your feelings are normal and valid. I’ve always felt that a grief conferences provide messages of hope and resilience, showing that despite the profound loss, there is a path forward. In the next few weeks, I will highlight different workshop sessions or activities being hosted by some of TSWR facilitators and team members. Please join us! Details, hotel info. and agenda are available on the registration page. Register today!

~ With care

Robyn

Robyn Houston-Bean

Founder, The Sun Will Rise Foundation

ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

1. SADOD's Psychoeducational Workshop: Creative Coping Skills Tuesday August 27, 2024 6:30-8:00pm ET Do you ever feel overwhelmed by grief and not sure how to cope? Do you wish you had more coping skills in your toolkit? Join us for this workshop where you will hear from SADOD staff who have found creative ways to cope with their grief. From song writing to karate, the possibilities are endless when it comes to finding the things that lift us up when we are feeling down. This workshop will take place virtually on Zoom. Learn more and register at bit.ly/creative-coping. Please note this workshop has a $10 fee for individuals outside of Massachusetts. Massachusetts residents may attend this workshop for free due to funding from MA-BSAS by using promo code MASS at the time of registration. If cost is an issue, please contact Laura@sadod.org

2. The Sun Will Rise Day at Fenway Park! Boston MA Sunday, September 22, 2024 Sunday 1:35 - 5:35 pm Update as of 8/19/24, event has sold out. Wait list available. We are excited to invite you to a special day at iconic Fenway Park to watch the Red Sox play baseball! This is a wonderful opportunity to come together, share in community, and enjoy America's favorite pastime. Whether you're a lifelong fan or just looking for a fun outing, this day promises to be filled with memorable moments. We will be offering a bus from Weston MA to Fenway so you do not have to pay parking fees. A link will be sent at a later date after your tickets are reserved. As with our previous events, we are asking for a deposit to hold your spot. In this case, because we are using an outside ticketing service, you must pay the total cost of the ticket to reserve. You will receive the full ticket amount back in cash at the event. If you sign up and do not attend the event without giving us 10 days notice, the ticket is not refundable. We do this to be able to continue to offer events at no cost to you. Thanks for your understanding. Sign Up Today! Space is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot soon. We can't wait to see you there and share in this special day together. Five tickets per family limit. Reserve your tickets here! Questions? Please email judyannkelly@gmail.com

3. FINDING SUPPORT IN GRIEF CONFERENCE October 18-20, 2024 Framingham MA REGISTRATION NOW OPEN! Discover hope, healing, support, and a sense of community at SADOD’s 3rd annual grief conference. Register now and learn more about this special event by clicking the link below: https://cvent.me/VVeBgB. Connect with others who have experienced the death of someone they care about to substance-use-related causes.

INTERNATIONAL OVERDOSE AWARENESS DAY

International Overdose Awareness Day is a global event held each year and aims to raise awareness in the community of overdose and reduce the stigma of a drug-related death. It also acknowledges the grief felt by families and friends remembering those who have died or had a permanent injury as a result of drug overdose. International Overdose Awareness Day spreads the message that the tragedy of overdose death is preventable. You are not alone.

IOAD event locators

Massachusetts

Other States & International

The Sun Will Rise Sponsored IOAD events

1. Nathan's Circle and Consoling Partners International Overdose Awareness Day Event West Barnstable MA Tuesday August 27, 2024 6:00 pm. Please register with kerry@peersupportcommunitypartners.com so they know how many butterflies and to share a photo for the memory tree/garden.

2. Braintree International Overdose Awareness Day Butterfly Release Braintree MA Friday August 30, 2024 10:00 am. Each attendee will receive a live butterfly to set free or a wildflower seed paper. Please rsvp to the Facebook event or email marci@thesunwillrise.org so we know how many butterflies are needed. Rain Date: 8/31/24

Thanks to Natalie Patricio for hosting a resource table at Summerfest today!

INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING AT AN IOAD RELATED EVENT?

Please email robyn@thesunwillrise.org if you would like to volunteer to host a table at an IOAD or other summer event to represent The Sun Will Rise. Your role would be to set up the table with materials provided by us, attend to the table and support attendees by providing materials and answer questions about our resources/meetings/events. A sign up sheet would be available for those that may want to talk further to a Peer Grief Support Specialist after the event and a sign up sheet would be available for those who would like to join our mailing list. We will provide a handout and/or a mini session to answer any questions you may have to feel prepared to do the tabling. We will add locations as requests come in.

Locations that still currently need volunteers are:

Easton MA 8/28/24 5:00 pm

Wrentham Day Wretham MA 9/7/24 9:00 am

This Thursday!!! Placement of Purple Fence Flags 8/22/24 5:00 pm 1 John F Kennedy Memorial Drive Braintree MA: To prepare for IOAD we will need volunteers to help zip tie the 2125 remembrance flags on the fence outside of Braintree MA Town Hall on 8/22/24 at 5:00 pm. We will also need assistance for removal on 9/5/24 at 5:00 pm. The 2125 purple flags will represent the estimated number of Massachusetts residents who died due to overdose in 2023. These are the most recent numbers from the state. No sign up required, just arrive at date/time specified.

Flag placement for IOAD 08/29/24 7:30 am Boston Common, Boston MA. For the third consecutive year, BSAS joins Boston Public Health Commission and Boston Medical Center in organizing an IOAD memorial in front of the Massachusetts State House, and you are invited to join. The event will take place from August 29 through September 1 at Liberty Mall on the Boston Common, across from the State House. On Thursday 8/29 there will be 22,125 purple flags planted on the lawn at Liberty Mall in remembrance of the 20,000 lives lost to overdose in Massachusetts between 2012-2022. An additional 2,125 flags will represent that many overdose deaths in our state during 2023. If you'd like to volunteer to assist with flag planting the morning of August 29th, please complete this form https://forms.gle/92TTiQAMx1TeYzcbA. There is also an opportunity on the form to submit names if you are unable to attend but would someone remembered by name with a sticker on one of the flags.

Please help us secure the purple flags to the fence Thursday 8/22/24 Braintree MA. See information above.

THIS WEEK’S MEETING INFORMATION

Monday - IN-PERSON, WEYMOUTH MA 8/19/24 6:30-8:00 pm ET.

Darlene Mersereau facilitating. Crossroads Church,

241 Broad Street, Weymouth, MA