photo by: Joselyn King

Supporters participate in a walk to kick off “Recovery Month and Overdose Awareness Day” through downtown Wheeling on Friday. Many carried photos of their loved ones who have suffered from addiction. The walk was one of several events put together by YWCA Wheeling, Youth Services System and the Ohio County IMPACT Coalition.

WHEELING — Families and friends remember them from childhood. They loved football — the Steelers, Browns or Cowboys. They had people who loved them.

Maybe they had a dream to be in law enforcement or to operate their own tattoo shop.

Then their lives were cut short by drug addiction.

YWCA Wheeling, Youth Services System and the Ohio County IMPACT Coalition partnered on a series of events Friday to kick off “Recovery Month and Overdose Awareness Day.”

“Voices of Hope” readings were part of the commemoration. Friends and family members of those drawn to addiction read aloud short biographies of their loved ones. The stories spoke of their lives, their talents, who they were and their dreams that were cut short.

There was a resource fair at the Artisan Center with a number of local organizations participating. Among them were the Al-Anon Family Group, the Sexual Assault Help Center, the Post-Overdose Response Team, Helping Heroes, NAMI — Greater Wheeling, Healthways Inc., The Health Plan, Catholic Charities and Park Valley Behavorial Health.

At 4 p.m., supporters gathered for a walk to bring awareness of those lost to drug addiction and those in recovery. Some carried “fatheads” with the photos of their friends who have been addicted, while others showed signs noting statistics regarding addiction.

Among the information they shared were the following notations, attributed to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

– West Virginia consistently leads in overdose mortality, with over 80 deaths per 100,000 people in 2022 – more than double the national average.

– In 2024, an estimated 80,391 drug overdose deaths took place in the United States.

– Men comprise 70-75% of overdose fatalities.

– Adults 35-44 currently show the highest overdose death rate.

– Studies suggest one in five overdose survivors experience another overdose within a year.

Nic Cochran, director of the recovery homes at YSS, greeted guests at the YSS resource table. Next to him was a memory wall where the public placed candles and the names of those they knew who succumbed to drug addiction.

Much of the event was about directing the friends and families of those addicted to the available resources in the community.

Cochran said YSS operates three recovery homes – one for women and two for men. The three shelters together have the capacity to house 19 people.

Ashlie Kotson, northern regional director for Catholic Charities in Wheeling, provided outreach to those who needed it. The agency was also raffling off a basket of cleaning supplies and giving tickets to each person who visited the table.