Raising awareness by lowering the flag 

By: Editorial 

U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, who previously reached across the aisle in an effort to save the Lowell Spinners minor league baseball team, has mounted another campaign to underscore the terrible toll the scourge of substance abuse has taken on this country.

This time the Westford Democrat is co-leading a bipartisan effort to have American flags lowered to half-staff in honor of International Overdose Awareness Day.

She along with U.S. Rep. John Joyce, a Pennsylvania Republican, have authored a letter — which 37 of their congressional colleagues have signed — urging President Donald Trump to lower flags on that day, observed on Aug. 31.

The letter outlines how the addiction crisis has affected “countless” families and communities across the U.S.; it’s claimed the lives of 700,000 Americans in just the last 20 years. It also notes that data from July also show more than 30 states have reported spikes in overdose deaths over the past few months.

In a statement, Trahan noted she has partnered with Cheryl Juaire, the founder of Team Sharing, Inc., on numerous occasions to address substance-abuse issues. Juaire, who recently helped organize efforts to have Gov. Charlie Baker lower flags around the state on Aug. 31, said she was grateful to Trahan and Joyce for doing the same at federal buildings.

We should embrace any opportunity to create bipartisanship in Washington, and the recognition of this nationwide epidemic of drug abuse certainly cries out for everyone’s support.

We urge President Trump to approve this request.