Raleigh County commemorates International Overdose Awareness Day [Video]

BECKLEY, WV (WOAY) – Today marked the fourth International Overdose Awareness Day in Raleigh County.

Since 2021, the event has become a lot more personal and close… with many returning this year to take part.

“Coming from all over the community — people are reaching out, asking for support (after) those that they’ve lost. In the last couple of years, we’ve had a lot of OD (overdose) raises in Raleigh County and all of southern West Virginia. So we want to make sure that this is an annual event,” said Raleigh County Prevention Coalition Chair Amanda Hammons.

They were there to educate, offer overdose prevention materials and support the community for those who may have lost someone to a fatal overdose. Show them that there’s support in numbers.

“And bring some really wonderful people to the table,” Hammons said. “This year we actually had a sponsorship from ARH. They do …