EVERETT — Snohomish County will host a resource fair and candlelight vigil Thursday in Everett to observe International Overdose Awareness Day.
The eighth annual “A Night To Remember, A Time To Act” is a chance to honor lives lost while providing resources and tackling stigmas surrounding substance use disorder.
Starting at 5 p.m. at 3000 Rockefeller Ave, the county, along with local nonprofits and health care providers, will provide overdose prevention kits and connections to treatment. Courage to Change Recovery Services will be available to transport people from the event to detox.
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Last year, Snohomish County saw a peak in fatal drug overdoses with more than 300 deaths, mostly from opioids. Overdose rates are finally on the decline, as the county has worked with local agencies to expand access to treatment and the opioid overdose reversing medication naloxone.
The candlelight vigil is set to start at 6:15 p.m. Speakers include County Executive Dave Somers, Superior Court Judge Karen Moore with the adult recovery court as well as providers and patients from local recovery clinics. Guests are encouraged to participate by asking questions during the program and bringing photos of affected loved ones.
“It’s important to have these chances for people to come together and share memories, grief, and also hope,” Somers said in a press release. “I’ll be remembering and honoring Alan, my kid brother, who was taken too soon by a fentanyl overdose.”
Two mothers who lost their sons to overdose, Cathi Lee and Debbie Warfield, organize the event each year with the county and Hope Soldiers, a local nonprofit fighting addiction and self-harm. This year, the program will highlight the importance of drug court, methadone clinics and medication-assisted treatment programs.
“It has been 12 years since our son, Spencer, died from an overdose,” Warfield said in the press release. “In that time, I realized there is no one solution for people suffering from addiction.”
Those who can’t attend the event can watch a livestream on the Hope Soldiers Facebook page.
Sydney Jackson: 425-339-3430; sydney.jackson@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @_sydneyajackson.
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