LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On an empty lot in Louisville’s Portland neighborhood, staff from Addiction Recovery Care (ARC) were grilling hot dogs Thursday, offering free food and information about addiction and recovery treatment.
Aug. 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day.
“It's [International] Overdose Awareness Day, so we want to just make sure that people are seen, heard and loved on, that they do not have to walk through anything alone, that we care for them and we're excited to just be out here together with them,” said Katie Fields, community liaison for ARC.
Nearby, the organization Omni Resource Services (ORS) had snacks and harm reduction supplies such as paper strips used to test substances for fentanyl.
They said outreach is about meeting people where they are.
“I'm here for the people that needs help that probably can't get there to get the help,” said Roderick Hickman, an ORS client in recovery from alcohol addiction. “So we’re out here so they can come. We’re coming to them.”
According to the state's 2022 Overdose Fatality Report, 2,135 people died from a drug overdose in Kentucky last year.
“This is a national public health epidemic, and it's not affecting one segment of our population, but all segments,” said Damin Williams, ORS's executive director. “We need to be unified in the way in which we treat these individuals.”
Cortez Malone said he has been in and out of treatment centers; he knows eight people lost to overdoses.
He said he planned to go back into treatment and return to the community to try to save lives. Now he volunteers with ORS.
“When you come out of either jail or a recovery home, it's just that devil’s right there waiting for you at the door,” he said.