Power of Putnam asking residents to bring pictures of friends or family members who have passed away from drug overdoses to form a memorial garden Saturday.
Power of Putnam Lifeline Coordinator Dylan Johnson said the garden at Dogwood Park a part of Overdose Awareness Day. Johnson said displaying pictures of the victims will aim to bring attention to how drugs can impact families and the community.
“A lot of people hear about drug overdoses, and they hear about the fentanyl crisis, and they are not picturing what that actually represents unless it happens to someone they know or someone they love,” Johnson said. “So this is a way for us to see that it is happening in our community.”
Johnson said the fentanyl crisis has exploded, and Putnam County has seen an increase in drug overdoses over the past eight years.
The event takes place Saturday from 4pm-8pm.
Johnson said most fatal drug overdose cases are unexpected and can be tough for loved ones to grasp.
“If it’s someone I have lost touch with or if it’s a friend of a friend or a child of a family friend, I may not know that they were struggling with a drug addiction, or that they were experiencing the ins and outs of drug addiction every single day,” Johnson said. “It’s shocking to see a Facebook update or read the newspaper and see it in the paper.”
Johnson said the memorial garden will be a great way for the community to come together and heal in a judgment and stigma-free space. Johnson said he hopes the garden can also remove the negative stigma that surrounds drug addiction.
“Oftentimes, it’s not mentioned, it’s not worded, and they don’t say died from a fatal drug overdose, because there is some stigma to that, and there is some embarrassment and shame, and that can come out in a lot of ways, and a lot of times it’s anger,” Johnson said. “You know, it’s one thing to lose someone to an accidental heart attack and have to cope with that loss, but there are a lot of thoughts and opinions, and beliefs about drug addiction and folks who fall victim to it.”
