The White House next month will host a memorial installation that will depict the 22,000 people who died in 2015 from a prescription opioid overdose.
The memorial will be hosted by the National Park Service and the nonprofit National Safety Council, and will be placed on the White House Ellipse, home of the National Christmas Tree.
“This stirring exhibit will be open to the public from April 12 through April 18 to educate visitors on the devastating impact of the opioid crisis,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said during her opening remarks at the press briefing Tuesday.
The memorial will be up during peak tourism season in the nation’s capital, during which people travel from all over the world to see the cherry blossoms.
It is part of the National Safety Council’s “Stop Everyday Killers” campaign and shows a wall of engraved pills depicting the faces of people who died. Next to them is a note memorializing their lives. It has toured in other U.S. cities, including Chicago and Pittsburgh.
“These stories are tough to hear, and this exhibit will be an intensely emotional and somber experience,” Sanders said. “But it’s also a reminder that lives are at stake, and we must take action to end the plague of addiction that is ravaging communities all across our nation.”
There is an opioid crisis in this country and the death toll shows far too many zeros. 22,000 people die each year from prescription opioid overdoses. We put a face to each one. Join us at the memorial on the Ellipse at the @WhiteHouse, 4/12-4/18: https://t.co/u4iJOtpRc4 pic.twitter.com/33EcOeHKqM
— NSC (@NSCsafety) March 27, 2018
The National Safety Council partners with businesses and nonprofits to eliminate preventable deaths. Its White House memorial will be conducted in partnership with Stericycle, an organization that helps dispose of unused prescription drugs.
People who have visited the memorial receive cards prompting them to talk to their doctors.
“The memorial encourages consumers to do two simple things: talk with their healthcare providers about opioids and clean out their medicine cabinets,” said Deborah Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council.
The White House is partnering with @Interior and @NatlParkService to bring the @NSCsafety‘s “Prescribed to Death” opioid memorial to the Ellipse near the White House from April 11 to April 18. pic.twitter.com/KRwVnTWk5x
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 27, 2018
