Two recovering addicts stress the importance of Internationa

happens each year — on august 31st. the goal is to raise awareness about drug-related deaths — and acknowledge the grief felt by families and friends — who have lost a loved one to overdose. 47 abc’s lissette nu?ez join us live in studio to tell us more about what’s going on tomorrow. hi lissette. hi emily. as we know — substance abuse is now a health crisis which is why groups all over the world are participating in this massive awareness campaign. and a number of events are happening on delmarva. according to the c-d-c – approximately 47-thousand drug overdoses occurred in the u-s in 2014 — and our local numbers support the belief that those numbers have steadily escalated since then. for instance — the wicomico county health department tells us — last year in salisbury — 100 overdoses were treated. and this year — within just the first six months — there were 1-hundred and 88 overdoses. we spoke to two young people who were unfortunately part of those statistics. and local organizers of international overdose awareness day are looking to take a stand against this crisis. ciara berry, salisbury, md, 22 “10:40:40 i was gasping for air, i was blue. they actually had to hit me with narcan to bring me back.”10:40:46 track 1 twenty-two year old ciara berry is referring to one of two times she overdosed on heroin. she is now in rehab–and is two weeks clean. but she admits she didn’t get to this point on her own. a driving force in her recovery was her childhood best friend–nicole ehinger–who is recovering herself. nicole ehinger, salisbury, md, 23 10:46:17 i don’t want to get a call that my best friend died, i don’t want to get that call ever 10:46:20 track 2 twenty-three year old nicole is now 19-months drug free. nicole and ciara tell 47 abc is hasn’t been an easy road to recovery. it’s taken a toll on their families. ciara berry, salisbury, md, 22 “10:41:51 for the longest of time my mom stayed up at night crying over me. i ended up homeless in baltimore for 3 or 4 days and my mom has pretty muchtold me she had grieved my death.10:42:01″ track 3 which is why they are urging locals to take part in international overdose awareness day. nicole ehinger, salisbury, md, 23 10:45:57 it’s happening and we need to stop being scared and speak up on it especially if you’re struggling 10:46:00 track 4 tuesday afternoon – organizers of the event in salisbury – were spray-painting crosses for their rally. the crosses honor those who lost their lives to substance abuse. regina melvin – is the administrator for caring and sharing in the face of addiction – a local support group for families of drug users – past and present. she says the first step – in moving forward – is being able to have open conversations about substance abuse. regina melvin, caring and sharing administrator 10:59:42 we need to stop the stigma, stop the shame, this is an epidemic.10:59:45” track 5 and ciara agrees. she tells us this can open doors to support and recovery. nicole ehinger, salisbury, md, 23 10:49:14 it’s amazing once you get to the other side how much support there is from your family and it’s been there all a long 10:49:19 ciara berry, salisbury, md, 22 10:46:33 there is hope, pain does end 10:46:34 salisbury’s event will take place tomorrow at 6-30 p-m by the riverwalk. and make sure to check out our website — for a list of other locations across delmarva — participating in international overdose awareness day events. emily? alright thank you lissette. that’s 47 a-b-c’s lissette nu?ez reporting live in studio. a local organization aimed at helping boost local teenage girl’s self-esteem is recruiting