Marching in the war on drugs | News | sharonherald.com – Sharonherald

FARRELL Orlon Dungee literally carried his mothers memory in the form of a large, framed photograph as he walked over a mile on Saturday.

The 10-year-olds mom, Laura West, died in December of an opioid overdose after fighting a long battle with drug addiction. She was only 29.

Thats why her son carried her portrait at Saturdays Memory Walk Against Addiction. More than 100 joined the event, which was hosted by the Valley Baptist Church in Farrell.

Many of the people in attendance had personal stakes in the event, through people close to them who have struggled with addiction.

Laura Wests mom, April West, now cares for Orlon and her daughters two other children.

April West talked about her daughter as she walked with others while wearing a T-shirt with a large photo of Laura on the back.

When she walked into a room the whole room brightened, West said.

But her opioid addiction ground her down.

She overdosed so many times, West said. She just got tired.

April West said Its been difficult moving forward, but she found a path out of the darkness.

I have to say its by the grace of God, she said.

Valley Baptist Church Pastor T. James Harrison spoke briefly to the crowd gathered outside the church after the walk.

We want people to know were here for them, Harrison said. and he added drug addiction is felt in every corner of society regardless of religious faith, age, gender or race.

On the same day I had two funerals for people who died of drug overdoses, he said.

In a study on opioid addiction, the Mayo Clinic found anyone taking these powerful narcotics is at risk of developing addiction.

Your personal history and the length of time you use opioids play a role, but its impossible to predict whos vulnerable to eventual dependence on and abuse of these drugs, the clinic said on its website. Legal or illegal, stolen and shared, these drugs are responsible for the majority of overdose deaths in the U.S. today.

Mercer County Coroner John Libonati was among those at the event and shared some heartbreaking numbers. In Mercer County, as in much of the nation, drug overdose deaths are increasing.

After 44 drug overdose deaths in 2020 in the county. Last year, that figure rose to 67, the highest since the opioid epidemic struck Mercer county, according to recently compiled figures.

So far, Libonatis office has compiled 27 drug deaths in less than four months in 2022, with another five cases pending.

Were on pace to hit triple digits this year, Libonati said.

But there is hope.

Events like the one Saturday serve as an outreach to anyone dealing with an addiction, Libonati said.

Sometimes they get the feeling nobody cares, he said. Just look at the people who are here today. There are people who care.

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Marching in the war on drugs | News | sharonherald.com - Sharonherald