Awareness of drug issue is key in battle

Overdose deaths continue to plague our society, and the efforts by local residents bringing awareness to the issue are welcomed.

International Overdose Awareness Day was Aug. 31 and there was a vigil at Lakeview Terrace at Lakeview Park in Lorain where people heard heart-wrenching stories of addiction.

Yes, it was a difficult day in such a difficult year with people telling stories of what overdoses have done to their loved ones.

However, survivors of overdoses and families of the people who succumbed joined in a global movement to observe it to make this a better world.

International Overdose Awareness Day takes place Aug. 31 each year to raise awareness of overdoses, reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths and acknowledge the grief felt by families and friends

This year’s Lorain County observance featured a candlelight vigil and shoe display memorializing those who have walked the road of addiction and died. Service providers were also on hand.

Families of those lost to the opioid epidemic and survivors who found solace in recovery shared their respective journeys in searching for answers.

The speakers at the vigil asked the community to come together to help solve this addiction problem.

The Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services Board of Lorain County was joined by fellow Lorain County Opioid Action Team partners in memory of the 138 Lorain County residents who died from accidental drug overdoses in 2020.

That’s 138 too many. Julie Smith spoke of her son Taylor Havanchak, who passed away at the age of 20 from an overdose after struggling with an addiction to opiates for eight years.

After being prescribed prescription painkillers following a car accident, Smith said Havanchak lost a lot in those eight years.

Smith’s family desperately tried to help Havanchak in any way they could.

But, they learned that the person with the addiction problem must want to get the help, they need to do it for themselves.

Smith’s family will forever mourn Havanchak’s death and the difficult time he had.

She is praying that people can work together to help end the opioid epidemic that is tearing families apart and urged those struggling to seek help.

We agree with Smith that if you know someone with an addiction, show them some grace and mercy.

Those addicted are hurting, they need help and they need to be lifted up.

Another speaker was Stephanie Stammitti, who called the death of her 21-year-old son Kyle Miller in 2013, the worst day of her life.

Miller was injured in a wrestling accident that required a prescription for painkillers.

In three years, Stammitti saw her son go from a healthy bodybuilder to having a fullblown opioid addiction.

In long-term recovery herself, Stammitti said it was one week after her son was discharged from treatment that she received the phone call that he had passed away.

In the overwhelming emotional tumult, Stammitti drew on the support system she developed in 12 years of sobriety.

Stammitti had the support of her Alcoholics Anonymous group, and people she didn’t even know who had been through the same thing.

She stated that if she can talk to anybody, if she can help someone, if she can let them know what she went through, that she will be there for them.

That’s the compassion people really need to help those with addiction.

Recalling her anger at God after her son’s passing, Stammitti acknowledged it was the recovery resources and support systems available for families and those struggling that enabled her to get through it.

Then, she encouraged others on a similar journey to reach out for help.

Kim Eberle, founder of Let’s Get Real Inc., a nonprofit recovery community organization based in Lorain, said with Lorain County overdose deaths on the rise once again, that it’s critical the community have difficult conversations with those in the throes of addiction or who are at risk.

Eberle added the only way to combat addiction is to talk, to not be ashamed to talk, no matter who the person is who’s suffering, to be open minded and to educate all of those around us, including people still suffering from addiction.

The heart-wrenching stories and testimonials people gave Aug. 31 are somber reminders of the hundreds of thousands of lives lost through addiction.

The day also is a reminder of how far we have come in combatting addiction across America.

We still have a long way to go to overcome this opioid pandemic.

But events like International Overdose Awareness Day help the cause.