In the four years since Brian Messier died at the age of 27 of a drug overdose in his family’s East Greenwich home, a scholarship fund founded in his memory has awarded a total of $65,000 to 18 seniors from East Greenwich High School.

“There is still stigma out there [about drug use and overdose deaths] and this is why I will continue to tell Brian’s story,” said his mother, Sara Messier-Bomberger. “In 2017, 62,000 died from an overdose and in 2020 over 88,000 in the US alone,” she said. “The nation’s COVID pandemic made the drug overdose epidemic worse.”

Bomberger said every state in the country has reported increases in overdose deaths during the pandemic.  

The Brian Steven Messier East Greenwich High School (EGHS) Scholarship Fund is hosting its Fourth Annual Golf Tournament fundraiser to be held on Monday, July 26, at Quidnessett Country Club. If you would like to donate, become a sponsor, or participate – the Brian Steven Messier EGHS Scholarship Fund is now a nonprofit 501(c)(3) – you can learn more about it HERE.

And you can read more about Brian in a story we posted in 2019: Honoring Brian by Helping Students Focus on Success.