Several hundred people came out to an addiction treatment center Wednesday night to honor National Overdose Awareness Day and remember those lost to addiction.
“We just wanted to contribute to the community effort in raising awareness,” explained Manny Rivera, the clinical director at Steps to Recovery on Veterans Highway in Middletown’s Levittown section.
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In addition to raising awareness, the night was also about minimizing the stigma that goes along with addiction.
The “Night to Remember” attracted elected officials like State Rep. Frank Farry and State Rep. Tina Davis, as well as Diane Rosati, the executive director of the Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission, and cheesesteak businessman Tony Luke Jr., was also in attendance showing support for the #BrownandWhite initiative.
“This involves real people. They aren’t just statistics or numbers in a book,” Rivera said. “We need to stop pretending that this isn’t happening.”
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“We’re just doing what we can,” said Ryan McCarthy, the CEO and co-founder of Steps to Recovery, an addiction treatment center.
“I think that the more awareness there is, the better,” said Farry.
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The everyday person doing all they can to help combat addiction and overdoses is an important step, Rosati explained. People can carry narcan, which they can receive for free from the Drug and Alcohol Commission, and clear out their medicine cabinets when medicine is no longer needed.
The evening culminated with a ceremony where attendees wrote the names of their lost on river stones. After a short symbolic ceremony by Luke, family members placed their rocks around the tree to create a monument of remembrance.
