Drug awareness 5K fundraiser slated Aug. 31 at Shelton Riverwalk

SHELTON - Fight Against Drugs Everywhere will hold its third annual drug awareness 5K run/walk at 6 p.m. Aug. 31 at the Shelton Pavilion & Riverwalk.

Proceeds will benefit BHcare’s Alliance for Prevention and Wellness.

This year’s event is being held on International Overdose Awareness Day.

It will include: a professionally-timed sunset 5K run, kids 1-mile fun run, live music, resource fair, and will conclude with a candlelight remembrance ceremony. 

Names will be read of loved ones lost by overdose. People may submit names the day of the event to be read aloud.

Drug overdose rates have skyrocketed in the United States over the last 15 years. Drug overdoses and drug overdose deaths continue to rise at an alarming rate. 

More than 120 people die every day in the U.S. from an opioid overdose. Both prescription painkillers and heroin are contributing to this phenomenon.  

Last year, Connecticut lost 917 residents from drug overdoses.

FADE 5K run/walk is being held to raise awareness of the opioid epidemic and overdoses, acknowledge and support the grief felt by families and friends who have lost a loved one, provide hope to families who have a loved one struggling with a substance use disorder, and to provide local prevention and treatment resources.

FADE founder Julie Markarian said, “The pain of losing a child to opioid use disorder is a feeling that only people who have been through it can understand, but it is a potential reality that everyone should be aware of. I tragically lost my son, Stephen Medeiros, to a drug overdose five years ago and really wanted to keep his memory alive and help other families not feel shameful or alone when having a family member struggle or die from a substance use disorder.”

Participants who register by Aug. 15 can run/walk in memory of a loved one. 

Register at http://bit.ly/faderunwalk17.

The Alliance for Prevention & Wellness, a program of BHcare, is one of Connecticut’s Regional Action Council, whose mission is to foster positive mental health by preventing substance misuse and other health-risk behaviors, and by building resources that promote wellness. 

For more information, please visit www.APW-CT.org.

This is a press release from The Alliance for Prevention and Wellness.