NSC to use interactive map to raise awareness of opioid misuse epidemic

Itasca, IL — The National Safety Council is adopting the Celebrating Lost Loved Ones map – an interactive online platform designed to memorialize people who have died from opioid-related overdoses and to raise awareness of the epidemic.

Visitors can click on circles on the map and zoom in to view memorials. Family and friends can post stories and photos of loved ones they have lost in the ongoing opioid crisis.

A recent data analysis from NSC shows that opioid-related deaths increased to 37,814 in 2016 from 29,382 in 2015.

“One in four people in the U.S. has been directly affected by the opioid epidemic,” NSC President and CEO Deborah A.P. Hersman said in a Feb. 6 press release. “The Celebrating Lost Loved Ones map can help reduce the stigma around opioid-related deaths by allowing us to get to know those in our community who were loved and are so deeply missed.”

Jeremiah Lindemann, a Colorado-based solution engineer, created the project in 2016 after the death of his younger brother.