Overdose awareness candlelight vigil
ALBANY, Ga. – As the evening settled in, residents of the Albany community gathered together to create a peaceful moment of remembrance.
Organized by Heather Harrison, this vigil aimed to raise awareness of overdose prevention and honor those who have lost their lives to overdose.
“Basically, I got on Google wondering what was going on for International Overdose Awareness Day and my community. I wanted to offer my professional expertise,” said Heather Harrison, Make Moves Marketing, LLC, owner.
A prior incident in Harrison’s life inspired her to organize this event.
“I lost both my brother and my father to overdose. Their pictures are behind me on the car. My brother was sober the day before he died. My brother was in treatment as he was the manager of his 3/4 living house before he had a bad day and made a bad choice and lost his life,” said Harrison.
Jessie Blanchard explains how her organization supports individuals affected by overdose.
“229 Safer Living Access was born four years ago and we go out into the community, we meet with our community. We ask them what their goals are and what do they need to stay healthy, safe and alive. We help them access the resources that are already here in our town,” said Jessie Blanchard, RN & 229 Safer Living Access, founder.
Harrison aims to be a light in the darkness for those struggling with overdose.
“We’ve got to break that stigma. We have got to start speaking out about this because that’s the only way that people are going to start feeling comfortable to talk about their problems. There are so many people in this community struggling every single day with addiction, people within arm’s reach of us that we can’t see that are dying on the inside, struggling with addiction. I love you. There are people out there that love you and don’t want you to die, I love you. Come to me, find me. You can look me up. I am a safe person. If you need help, I will get you help any time,” said Harrison.
De’Andra Jacobs reporting.
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