Vigil raises awareness of overdose deaths
SARATOGASPRINGS, N. Y. » A candlelight vigil was held in Congress Park on Thursday evening to remember those who lost their lives due to drug overdoses.
Paul Mead, a lead pastor at Gospel Lighthouse Church in Hudson Falls, provided an invocation to begin the vigil.
“The reason I am here is because I’m a person in longterm recovery, and although I pastor a church, therewas a time inmy life when I was homeless and helpless and hopeless, dying in the streets of Albany, New York,” said Mead. “I had an encounter with the Lord many years ago now that changed my life and helped me to know that recovery is possible, so I’m here tonight to really share my story and help other people to know that if they’ve got a loved one out there that is hurting: there is hope.”
Several speakers — ranging from parents who lost children, adults who have been sober for decades and public officials like U. S. Rep. Paul Tonko and Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen — delivered messages of hope.
“It’s exciting to see all the people here supporting this, but it’s also a reminder of the need that’s represented. Manyof thepeople that I see around here tonight have sons, daughters, loved ones who are not here tonight because they are out there somewhere trying to find peace in their lives and hope intheir heart; and so when I look around here I see kind of both spectrums of people,” Mead said, before the event. “Those that are here to bring hope, and those that are here looking for hope.”
Before the vigil, Meghan Riihimaki — the Saratoga County addiction services program coordinator—provided a free Narcan training at the Saratoga Springs Public Library.
Narcan is a medicine that blocks the effects of opioids and can reverse an overdose.
“They’re incredibly important. [ Narcan] saves lives. If one out of a thousand of these is used, then it is a life saved and an opportunity for recovery,” said Riihimaki. “More than that, in my opinion, they’re important for getting the community actively involved in the reality of addiction recovery in our community in a way that, from my perspective, they’ve never done before.”
Riihimaki gave a presentation, to a room filled with nearly three dozen people, about how to properly administer Narcan on an overdosed person.
“This is an amazing medication, and it’s my job to teach people that they are empowered to use it,” said Riihimaki. “They can use it without doing any harm, and they canmake a real difference.”
Aug. 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day, aiming to raise awareness about overdoses and reducing the stigma of drug- related death. A microphone was passed around as participants held candles speaking loudly about who the candle represented: a lost brother, sister, parent, friend or relative. Countless names were mentioned, serving as a reminder of how many lives are altered.
“I was watching the World Series a few years ago and during the seventh inning they had an event called Stand Up For Cancer, and during the seventh inning the announcer said ‘ If you or someone in your life has been affected by cancer, would you stand up?’ And in that moment, over 40,000 people simultaneously stood up,” said Mead. “If you were to ask those same people at the World Series this year, ‘ If you or somebody you know has been affected by drug addiction, alcoholism or overdose, would you please stand up?’ Everybody would stand up.”