AUSTIN, Texas —
A group of Central Texas advocates are hosting a rally Thursday at the Texas Governor's Mansion in honor of International Overdose Awareness Day.
According to a study from Rice University, from August 2022 to August 2023, more than 5,500 Texans died from overdoses, for an average of about 13 a day. Roughly 45% of those, or more than 2,000, were caused by fentanyl.
The rally is being organized in an effort to make policy changes and gain access to harm reduction tools, which the groups believe could save lives.
A representative from Vocal Texas, one of the groups organizing the rally, said they want Gov. Greg Abbott to stop blocking what they consider critical tools to help those suffering from an overdose. These include access to Narcan and fentanyl test strips.
"I, myself, have saved four people with Narcan. And just one of them a couple of days ago," Joel Cole with Vocal Texas said. "Where I work, I have access to Narcan, but that's not the same for a lot of people that I know. So, I mean, I imagine with the easier access to test strips and Narcan that all these people that die here in Texas every day, you know, they'll have a better shot."
The rally will feature speakers from Vocal Texas, the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance, public health experts and people directly impacted by overdoses. Vocal Texas is also expecting a few elected officials to joins the rally.
Cole said not only do they want more access to items like harm reduction supplies, they also want to change policies they believe make people scared to call the police for overdoses or take actions that could save lives.
"A lot of people lose their lives. And if people don't fight for our rights to keep ourselves safe, then unfortunately, Governor Abbott is going to keep us blocked," he said.
This past legislative session, Abbott signed several bills into law aimed at combating the state's fentanyl crisis.
Thursday's rally is scheduled to kickoff at 3 p.m. outside the Governor's Mansion.