Overdose Awareness Week
California's Official Recognition
Every year, Overdose Awareness Week creates space for families to honor those lost, for survivors to be heard, and for the public to confront the scale of a crisis that claims hundreds of lives in California alone.
Assembly House Resolution 121
Assembly House Resolution 121
2022
Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris
How It Became Official
In 2022, Wendy McEntyre's years of advocacy helped secure California's official recognition of Overdose Awareness Week through Assembly House Resolution 121 — a landmark partnership with Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris.
The path to that recognition began in 2019, when Wendy joined Assemblywoman Petrie-Norris's Substance Use Task Force. Over three years of testimony, coalition-building, and relentless advocacy, the effort grew from a local conversation into a statewide commitment.
Part Memorial. Part Call to Action.
Overdose Awareness Week is not just a moment of remembrance — it's a demand for accountability. It honors the lives lost while insisting that those deaths were preventable, and that the systems that failed them must change.
For families like Wendy's, the week is personal. For policymakers, it's a reminder that the overdose crisis is not abstract — it has names, faces, and families left behind.
Honor the Lives Lost
Join Jarrod's Law Foundation in marking Overdose Awareness Week each year — and in fighting for the systemic change that will prevent future losses.