Upcoming event hopes to raise awareness for drug overdoses

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- The drug epidemic in Ohio has continued to take lives and one event plans to bring awareness to that.

‘Unite & Light the Way Out of Darkness’ is a community event aimed to raise awareness for the staggering number of overdoses and deaths due to drugs in Muskingum County.

Keely Warden, Executive Director of Christ’s Table, said addiction touches so many of the people they serve in the community.

“It’s time, it’s time for all of us to do something where we’re watching people being eaten away by heroin, by these nasty drugs that are out there. So it’s time, it’s time for us to come together, it’s time for us to ask help, it’s time for us to join hands and figure this out,” said Warden.

The event will be an evening of prayer with a candlelight vigil to help inform the community. Warden encourages everyone to attend.

“We don’t want people to think its a ‘churchy’ thing so we’re asking everybody in the community to come out,” said Warden.

Another event organize plans to help raise awareness through sharing her personal connection to the issue.

“I have a son that is an addict that has overdosed and I’m watching him die everyday, he’s slowly dying and I’m watching. It’s got to stop, it’s got to stop,” said Christy Kinder.

Kinder said she hopes the community can come together to put an end to the epidemic.

“We’re going to bring awareness and we’re hoping that it can be figured out so that we can all work together, so that we can unite together to make this happen,” said Kinder.

The event will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 7th at the James Singer Activity Center at 831 Matthews Street.

For more information contact Jamie Trout at Eastside Community Ministries at (740) 452-7519 or Christy Kinder at (740) 562-0444.