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In observance of International Overdose Awareness Day, Stanly County Project Lazarus is sponsoring two events in August.
The Walk to Remember, hosted in partnership with Will’s Place, will be at Stanly YMCA park, 115 C.B. Crook Dr., Albemarle, from 6-7 p.m. Aug. 29.
This will be a time of awareness, memory, support and honoring lives lost through shared grief and hope.
From 10-11:30 a.m. Aug. 31, Stanly County Project Lazarus will host its 3rd Annual International Overdose Awareness Day event at Central United Methodist Church, 172 N. 2nd St., Albemarle.
The event will include speakers, breakout sessions and a memorial presentation. Local prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery resources will have information to share with the community.
As part of the memorial presentation, Stanly County Project Lazarus is collecting photos of those who have experienced overdose for a remembrance slideshow that will be played at the Aug. 31 event. To submit photo(s), email Corey-Beth Travaglini at corey@willsplacenc.org.
Observed Aug. 31 every year, International Overdose Awareness Day seeks to create a better understanding of overdose, reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths and create change that reduces the harms associated with drug use.
For August, purple flags and “Time to Remember, Time to Act” yard signs can be found at partner agencies across Stanly County to bring awareness to the 4,339 deaths in North Carolina and 22 deaths in Stanly County attributed to overdose in 2022.
Stanly County Project Lazarus is a substance use prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery coalition. This coalition works to develop relationships, practices and procedures to increase the ability to respond to substance use in the community.
For more information, contact Wendy Growcock, Stanly County Project Lazarus coordinator, at wgrowcock@stanlycountync.gov – or visit the Stanly County Project Lazarus Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/stanlycountyprojectlazarus/.