WRENTHAM, Mass. — It’s a phenomenon only three weeks old, but already signs reading #2069 are popping up across the state bringing new light to the impact of the opioid crisis.
The number represents every Massachusetts resident whose death was attributed to opioids in 2016.
“Whoever could get their hands on the signs are getting the signs,” Deputy Wrentham Police Chief William McGrath said.
The signs are the latest weapon in the painful battle against opioid addiction and were designed by Trinity Episcopal Church in Wrentham.
“For a long time my husband and I hid our son's addiction from family members, neighbors, close friends, we kind of cut ourselves off from the rest of the world,” Lynn Wencus said.
Wencus is still coming to grips with the death of her son, Jeff. He was only 33 and died after battling with opioids for a decade.
“For me personally it means people, they are ready to have a conversation,” she said.
The #2069 signs have become so popular the church is running out of them and is now asking for a $12 donation to conversation the cost of new signs and a rally associated with this effort.
Jim Derick’s S.A.F.E. Coalition, which supports addicts and their families, put up some of the initial cost for signs and is helping organize a rally in Wrentham for the #2069 project
“I'm hoping that we have an enormous conversation about hope,” he said.
The rally, called “No Shame, Erasing the Stigma,” starts at 10 a.m. on Oct. 28 at the Wrentham Town Common.