Watertown agencies hosting new Overdose Awareness Day activities in August

Rachel Burt, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·3 min read

Jul. 27—WATERTOWN — In conjunction with annual events around the world for International Overdose Awareness Day, a new event is coming to the north country in August to celebrate life and acknowledging the grief felt by families and friends.

The first Overdose Prevention Day: A Day of Hope and Remembrance will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Aug. 31 at Thompson Park's Kite Hill with the intent to bring residents of the Watertown area and community partners together for a fun and informative day.

"It's an effort between three organizations, which is pretty cool, and it makes sure that they're able to help the community," said Mary Beth Anderson, director of development and community engagement for ACR Health. "And we're really pretty excited about it, trying to see if we can bring some more information to the community to try to help those who need it the most."

Community members are invited to join ACR Health, Anchor Recovery Center of Northern New York, and Credo Community Center for the Treatment of Addictions for activities, refreshments, entertainment, Narcan training, speakers, an open mic session and more. The event is free.

"It's like Watertown's dirty little secret," said Amanda Serrano, program associate at ACR Health. "Recently we've had fatal overdoses and there's no acknowledgement of it. For me, this is very personal because I've been affected directly through loss from overdoses, and I think it's very important for us to give the community an opportunity to be able to express and memorialize the ones that they have loved and lost in a supportive community way because in Jefferson County, all of it is hushed so maybe individuals don't really know where to seek the support that they need."

In 2020, the county recorded 34 overdose deaths and 26 toward the end of last year, though five were still pending at the time. More losses have been recorded over the months since. The goal of overdose awareness events is to prompt change through continued education and training in lifesaving procedures.

"It's a perfect opportunity for businesses and other people to come get trained as well in Narcan," said Carolina Diaz, NNY Harm Reduction supervisor for ACR Health. "A lot of people are not trained in Narcan and you see that there's overdoses happening in public spaces where the public may not have Narcan in order to save a life."

Narcan is a brand name of the medication naloxone, which is a nasal spray administered to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

The event is open to the community and anyone wishing to volunteer is welcome. A table will be set up with information about addiction services and resources in the area.

"Remembering those we have lost and those that have been able to move forward from their addiction can help by offering hope," said Cynthia Getman-Hubbard, family support specialist with Anchor.

Anchor Recovery Center of NNY, she said, maintains that there is always hope. The agency is available to support people on their journey and meet them where they are in recovery.

For more information about the joint event, contact Mary Beth Anderson at ACR Health at 315-898-2462 or mbanderson@acrhealth.org.