Sumter Behavioral Health to host overdose awareness event on Aug. 31

Saturday, Aug. 31, is International Overdose Awareness Day, and Sumter Behavioral Health Services strives to do its part through a free community event full of resources and engagement.

International Overdose Awareness Day is meant to raise awareness of overdoses, reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths and acknowledge the grief felt by families and friends. From 2019 to 2020, the total number of opioid-involved overdose deaths in South Carolina increased by 59 percent, from 876 to 1,400, according to South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

"Overdose can affect anyone, and we encourage you to remember the tenacity of our community," Sumter Behavioral Health Services said. "Lean into the power that we can have when we work together."

That work will come in the form of live music, food trucks as well as resources and free Narcan, which is used as an emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the old Sumter County Courthouse, 141 N. Main St., on Aug. 31.

For more information, contact Prevention Specialist Trevor Brown at (803) 905-5111 or email tbrown@sumterbhs.org.