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‘Garden of Hope’ honors substance abuse deaths, encourages conversation

Hopkinton High School juniors and HOP Youth members Kashvi Gupta (left) and Audrey Evans plant flags in the grass island at the Town Common on Monday to commemorate lives lost due to substance abuse. PHOTO/NICK SCHOFIELD

Almost 500 purple flags sit on the Town Common to commemorate deaths related to substance abuse in Middlesex County.

Representatives from Hopkinton Organizing for Prevention (HOP), including members of its youth coalition, were out on the island on Marathon Way (aka Cookie’s Corner) on Monday morning planting the 496 flags. Drug free communities coordinator Erin Bartolini explained that the number of flags relates to 2024 data on substance abuse deaths in the county.

Three of those deaths were Hopkinton residents, she added.

The display at the common is called the Garden of Hope and recognizes International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31. It will remain through the month of September, also in recognition of Recovery Month. In addition to the flags, the Town Common gazebo will be lit up at night with purple lights.

“The hope is for [the garden] to be a memorial but also inspire the community to have a conversation about substance abuse and talk about treatment and recovery,” said Bartolini.

Overdose awareness flags sit on the Town Common. PHOTO/NICK SCHOFIELD

The data HOP relied on to generate the garden was from 2024, but Bartolini said substance-abuse related deaths have been on the decline over the last few years. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health in June announced that the commonwealth recorded fewer than 1,000 opioid-related overdose deaths in 2025.

The last time the state recorded overdose-related deaths below 1,000 was 2013. The data also showed an almost 60% decline in these fatalities since the state’s record high of 2,364 deaths in 2022.

In Hopkinton, Bartolini said HOP has worked to reduce overdoses and fatalities through education, coordination with the school district, creating safe spaces for use and collaboration with the Health Department on Narcan training. HOP ran a Narcan training pilot program for high school students earlier this year.

HOP will be hosting events during September as part of Recovery Month to further educate the community. It is holding a screening of the documentary film “Our American Family” Sept. 24 at the Hopkinton Center for the Arts. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the mother featured in the movie. “The film really covers how a family is coping with generational addiction and recovery,” explained Bartolini.

The goal of all these efforts, Bartolini said, is conversation. “We want community members and parents to know it’s never too early to talk about substance abuse with their children,” she said.

— NICK SCHOFIELD

Latest News

Hopkinton Police dealt with two OUI incidents over the weekend, one of which led to a teenage driver’s arrest following a rollover crash.

This week’s Real Estate Transactions list shows eight sales, including two for over $2 million.

Town meetings tonight include the Board of Assessors (5:30), Board of Library Trustees (6), Parks & Recreation Commission (6) and Conservation Commission (7).

Photo of the Day

A worker uses a plate compactor to tamp down fresh pavement Monday at the intersection of Walcott Street and Main Street.

PHOTO/NICK SCHOFIELD