In observance of International Overdose Awareness Day, Stanly County Project Lazarus is sponsoring a Memorial Walk and resource fair. This event will be 6:30-8 p.m. Aug. 31 at Stanly YMCA Park, 115 C.B. Crook Dr., Albemarle.

The event will include local speakers from the recovery community and luminaries to honor those affected by overdose. Local prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery resources will have information to share with the community.

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 the month of 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 3,875 deaths in North Carolina and 20 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/

To purchase a luminary that will be displayed at the event, visit
http://www.willsplacenc.org/donation-shop.