Ballarat

To mark the 25th anniversary of International Overdose Awareness Day, Ballarat Community Health has created a public memorial display to honour and remember people in our community whose lives have been lost to overdose.

The display features 168 sets of hands, each representing a person who died from overdose in Ballarat between 2009 and 2025. Together, they provide a powerful reminder that behind every statistic is a person, a life, a story, and people who continue to love and remember them.

While publicly available local data only covers the period from 2009 to 2025, we acknowledge that the display cannot represent every person in our community who has died from overdose. Those whose lives are not represented in the available data are remembered and honoured alongside those who are.

The display aims to create a space for remembrance, reflection and conversation, while raising awareness of the ongoing importance of overdose prevention, harm reduction, compassionate care and reducing the stigma experienced by people who use drugs and their loved ones.

Their lives mattered. Their memories endure. Their legacy strengthens our commitment to preventing overdose.