ST. CLAIRSVILLE — August is National Overdose Awareness Month and the Mental Health and Recovery Board is gearing up to host two overdose awareness events in Belmont and Harrison counties on Friday.

The Belmont County event is at Memorial Park in St. Clairsville from noon until 3 p.m. At 2 p.m., there will be a butterfly release in remembrance of people who have died of overdose.

The Harrison County event will be from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Harrison County Health Department in Cadiz. Both events will have several booths and will be in attendance at both events providing free giveaways, as well as refreshments available.

Many of the resources that will be available at the events are through Southeast Health Care. Southeast Health Care provides free Narcan, Narcan training, outpatient treatment, and referrals to inpatient treatment facilities.

“We have what is called medication-assisted treatment, which is a person that receives the service will go to two group therapy appointments a week and will also see a therapist individually,” Southeast Health Care Court Navigator Cayla Paboucek-Davis said. “And then they will see a nurse practitioner that will prescribe Vivitrol if it’s an alcohol issue and sometimes for opioids as well. And either Suboxone or Subutex, but it’s very rare for us to prescribe Subutex because it has a higher probability of abuse.”

She added that it’s fairly common for people in the Ohio Valley to assume that there are not several resources for addiction but there are a plethora of resources for Ohio Valley residents.

“We don’t have a lot but we have more than what people think we have,” Paboucek-Davis said.

Belharmon at Cedar Ridge is a recently established detox center in Barnesville, WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Moundsville has a detox center, as well as Northwood Health Systems in Wheeling. Paboucek-Davis mentioned that the Northwood Health System detox center is specifically for methamphetamine.

Southeast Health Care hosts several Narcan Days throughout the year to provide free narcan to the public in hopes to save lives.

“Narcan is a medication that can reverse an overdose that is caused by an opioid drug. When administered during an overdose, Narcan blocks the effects of opioids on the brain and restores breathing within minutes,” according to the Belmont County Health Department’s website.

Paboucek-Davis said that in 2024 there has been an upswing of Ohio Valley residents requesting Narcan through Southeast Health Center.

“We have definitely seen a surge in Narcan distribution throughout the Southeast, but we’ve also seen a surge in overdoses,” she said. “We’re doing what we can, but it’s never enough.”

Narcan is available for free from multiple health care providers in the Ohio Valley such as the Belmont County Health Department, Southeast Health Care, and Eagle Healthworks. People can also call or text 988 at any time to be connected with a local agency.

“Everyone knows someone or loved someone who has suffered or is suffering but are too afraid to start the conversation,” she said.