REMEMBERING THOSE PEOPLE THEY HAVE LOST
Group hosts annual walk, vigil in memory of victims of addiction
WEST SANDLAKE, N. Y. » Hundreds of people of all ages joined together Thursday night to walk in memory of those who lost their battles with addiction.
The walk and vigil was hosted by the NØpiates Committee for a second year. The committee was created in 2015 by Tim and Kim Murdick after losing their 22- year- old son, Sean, froma heroin overdose in September 2015.
Members of the group were joined by community residents and elected officials, all with one goal: raising awareness about the dangers of addiction by sharing the stories of those who lost their lives to drug abuse.
The walk began at the West Sand Lake Elementary School and ended with a vigil ceremony at the West Sand Lake firehouse on Route 43. The event took place Thursday night on International Overdose Awareness Day.
“I think our committee and these walks do help to bring more awareness to the issue, but has it really helped stop the issue? I don’t think so because we had more deaths this year than we did last year and the year before, so it’s really not getting better,” Kim Murdick said, before the walk.
The Murdick family believes that there could be more money set aside to help fight this issue on the state and federal level.
“There could be money allocated in funding for treatment, it has to be something on a national and state level where they allocate funds for people in recovery,” said Kim Murdick. “We do these walks to mobilize people and to help them realize that there is support and there is hope and that recovery is possible.”
Among the officials to join in the brief walk to the West Sand Lake firehouse were Rensselaer County Executive Kathy Jimino, Deputy County Executive Chris Meyer, Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin, R- Troy, Assemblyman John McDonald III, D- Cohoes, Rensselaer County Legislator Bob Loveridge, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple, Rensselaer County Sheriff
Patrick Russo and representatives from the New York National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, and the West Sand Lake Fire Department. Many walkers honored their loved ones by using T- shirts, signs, and photographs.
“Since I was here last year, this problem became a little bit more personal to me,” said Jimino, as she choked up sharing a personal story during the vigil reception after the walk, “when a friend of my youngest daughter died this year, and I just get so angry that we continue to see people out there who say ‘ Oh, they’re just drug abusers’ as though that they made a choice to be an addict, as though they made a choice to die from this drug.”
Many participated in the walk and vigil in memory of loved ones who lost their lives to addiction or in some cases for people who are battling or are in recovery.
“Four years ago my daughter died from a heroin overdose,” said town of Sand Lake resident Nancy Timber. “I think it’s important that we all participate in these type of walks because we clearly have an issue here and we have a problem just likemost other cities and towns do, but we seem to have it worse here than anybody else I’ve talked to.”
“I wanted to come in memory of my niece who died from an overdose five years ago,” Stephentown resident Paula Beckwitch said. “I wanted to come this year to help bring awareness, plus my son is recovering and my sister is also recovering, so it’s good to keep the awareness out there like this.”