RVBH draws crowd to International Overdose Awareness Day event

It had only been 15 minutes following the beginning of the event, but the International Overdose Awareness Day at the Park, hosted by River Valley Behavioral Health (RVBH), was already crowded with guests filing into Moreland Park.

“So far, we’ve only been going for about 10 or 15 minutes, and it’s already packed,” said Nicki Feher, RVBH’s Vice President of Nursing and Prescriber Services who has helped organize the annual event to honor International Overdose Awareness Day, which is designated as August 31 yearly.

Feher said that, unlike previous years, the Thursday afternoon weather seemed to be drawing more of a crowd to all of the family-friendly activities including a petting zoo, DJ provided music, bouncy houses and face painting to name a few.

“We’re very excited that overdoses are down 30% this year for Kentucky, but the overdoses for ages four and under went from 9% to 5%. Five percent is still way too many,” Feher explained to emphasize why such events are important to the community. “Overdoses for ages, I believe it’s 75 to 84, increased, which means we are definitely getting the demographic we want (to impact), the 35 to 44-year-old age group that has the highest incidence of overdose, but we still have work to do because we need everybody to understand that (overdoses) are from substance use, but it’s also those prescription medicines you get from your doctors and you have in your home.”

Marsha Lowery, RVBH’s Senior Director of Clinical Services and Training, was stationed at the “Memory Wall” booth provided by the mental health focused organization, along with psychologist, Winona Galloway, and therapist, Jessica Pitman.

“We have the ‘Memory Tree’ here and people are invited to put the name on a heart of those that they’ve lost to a drug overdose and place it on the wall,” Lowery said. “We have outpatients therapists at this booth because sometimes these memories can be really difficult for people. So, we make sure that we have licensed professionals in this group to listen to their stories and offer support and resources.”

And RVBH wasn’t the only organization offering information about substance abuse disorders, treatment options and mental health care providers.

Jennifer Haynes, the president of the Owensboro Regional Suicide Prevention Coalition, and Jenny Wathen, who serves on the board of the organization, set up with resources informing guests that overdoses don’t only happen to those with substance abuse disorders and addiction, but also to individuals who might be considering hurting themselves.

“Obviously, overdose can definitely be a form of suicide. It can be a way for that to happen,” Haynes said. “So, it definitely goes hand in hand.”

The organization’s mission, according to information provided at the booth, is “to work together as neighbors in our community to prevent the tragedy of suicide and its aftermath.”

And as a way to help support the community and to help prevent suicide and the implications resulting from a successful suicide attempt, the organization hosts a Survivors of Suicide Loss, or SOS, support group for members of the community. Meetings are held at 6 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month in the Kentucky Wesleyan College Administration building, the building on campus that faces Frederica Street.

Haynes explained that the support group is for those who have been impacted by suicide or those who might have considered taking their own lives.

“It’s peer guided so there’s no mental health professional to ‘diagnose’ members. Sometimes the topics are deeper and emotional and sometimes they’re fun, but the goal is to show people that they aren’t alone and that there is support in the community,” she said.

And Lowery agrees.

“I want people to know that ‘You’re not alone.’ There’s help out here, and I think there is so much help available that there is no reason for anyone to feel lost and hopeless,” she said.

Lowery offered RVBH’s crisis line, 988, to individuals needing support.

“By calling 988, the crisis line, they can have someone to talk to and someone to provide resources so that they can get the help that they need,” she said.

Feher also stressed the importance of continuing efforts to make Narcan, a life-saving medication that can quickly help to restore the breathing of a person experiencing an opioid overdose, more accessible for the public. Representatives at the event were even handing out carrying cases to store Narcan to make the medication more accessible when it is needed, she said.

“Having Narcan on hand can save a life and every life, no matter what, is worth saving,” Feher said.