Overdose Awareness Event

SALISBURY, Md. — An overdose awareness event is taking place tonight at WinterPlace Park, where the community has gathered to remember loved ones lost.

Program coordinator Jessica Taylor said, “This is our eighth annual event, and it’s a time to publicly mourn the people we’ve lost — our friends, family and loved ones, but also members of the wider community.”

The evening features guest speakers sharing personal stories, a memorial wall and a vigil. Organizers said the event provides a night for the community to come together.

“We’re all in this together. We have to battle this together,” Taylor said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, but hopefully, as we continue to celebrate the lives we’ve lost, we can prevent another person from losing theirs.”

Taylor said the issue can affect anyone.

“People we might judge — based on how they look, where they grew up or anything else — this is nationwide,” she said. “It affects everyone.”

As the community mourns, Taylor emphasized the importance of moving forward while holding on to loved ones’ memories.

“It’s okay to get back to your life. It’s not as if you’re forgetting the person you lost,” she said. “You still carry them with you. We want to remember them and talk about them, because we want their legacy to live on — and we want to honor the beauty of who they were outside of substance use.”

International Overdose Awareness Day is observed Aug. 31.

Organizers said the event also marks the start of National Recovery Month, which begins Sept. 1.