T-L Photo/JOSIE BURKHART Agencies gather at the Belmont County Health Department Overdose Awareness Day event to provide resources and information to the community.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Different agencies provided resources to those struggling with addiction and mental health at the Overdose Awareness event in St. Clairsville.

The Belmont County Health Department held the event Friday afternoon in honor of Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31, remembering victims lost to overdose and supporting loved ones who are grieving a loss.

The Health Department held the event at the St. Clairsville Memorial Park at the Jaycee Shelter from noon to 3 p.m. They provided refreshments, free items such as Narcan kits, and information on overdose and addiction.

“The goal for today is to get those families help that need help,” said health educator Carrigan Goodson, “get information out there because you struggle finding what agencies exactly do, so just trying to get the information out there and offer some closure with our butterfly release.”

The butterfly release was held to remember those who have died from an overdose, and hopefully provide a sense of closure to the families who have lost a loved one, Goodson said.

The Health Department gathered different county entities who have resources for families who have lost someone to overdose or have a loved one struggling with addiction.

Goodson said the Health Department wanted to gather all of the agencies in a central location to meet its goal of helping people if they need it, providing information and spreading awareness.

“We know that addiction and overdose is a problem in our county,” she said. “It doesn’t discriminate. It can affect anybody, so we’re just trying to spread that awareness and take that stigma away from this conversation so that more people can start having it.”

Representatives The Village Network, from the Addiction Support Center of Excellence and Neurobehavioral Development and Coleman Health Services all attend the event to provide resources and information to help people who attended.

Scott Hedrick from Coleman Health Services said they were at the event because his agency provides a range of mental health services, such as depression or anxiety, who may end up overdosing, even on prescription pills. The agency also offers services to families who have experienced an overdose.

“To provide more awareness of what’s available for people,” he said. “The more people that know that we’re actually here, as well as other agencies, and make sure people have a place to turn when they’re feeling a certain way.”

Addiction Support Center of Excellence and Neurobehavioral Development, a substance abuse and mental health facility from Bellaire, was at the event to provide information on their several programs it offers being a residential facility and offering roughly 90 days of inpatient care.

“Advertise and get out there,” said Jena Johnson, consultant from the facility. “We want to be able to help everybody who’s unaware.”

Jenine Zackey from The Village Network’s early childhood section said the agency has many different programs, including outpatient counseling. Zackey and coworker Amy Hercules, go into daycares, child care centers, and headstarts if a child may need more specialized attention and works with teachers.

It also provides a free program called Triple P for parents in Ohio that can be found on triplep-parenting.com. The program provides tools on raising your children with positive influences in a child’s skills and development.

“We want people to know who we are, what we do and know that we’re available to them,” Zackey said. “Except for our outpatient services, we are actually free to the public … to work with teachers and parents.”

Other agencies at the event were Southeast Healthcare, Leann Cline from Mental Health and Recovering Board for Belmont, Harrison and Monroe counties, East Central Ohio Educational and service center and Belmont County partners and prevention coalition, Tri County Help Center and Building Bridges to Recovery.