Flags will be installed in the lawn by members of the Ohio National Guard Counter-Drug Program.

By CYNTHIA SCHUSTER EAKIN
Ohio’s largest overdose awareness event will be held on Cleveland’s Public Square on Aug. 31, in remembrance of the almost 5,000 Ohioans lost last year to accidental overdoses.
Waves of Awareness will begin with a memorial video from the main stage at 5 p.m., accompanied by the ringing of church bells. A program will follow featuring public officials, community speakers and the DEA Family Summit with guests from Facing Fentanyl.
Five thousand purple flags will be installed in the lawn by members of the Ohio National Guard Counter-Drug Program, symbolizing the almost 5,000 Ohioans lost last year. Up to 60 community providers from across northern Ohio will be onsite to provide resources, harm-reduction and valuable information. This includes mobile units from MetroHealth, the Greater Cleveland Transit Authority, NORA, University Hospital Project Dawn and Project White Butterfly. There will be opportunities for attendees to create memorial flags, pillows and rocks, and to sign the 16-foot memorial banner that will be hung throughout the year on the Stella Maris campus. The event will also include food trucks, music, yoga and meditation exercises.
Waves of Awareness will conclude at dusk with a candlelight Walk of Remembrance and a “Light Up Cleveland” event illuminating Public Square, the Terminal Tower and Progressive Field in purple lights.
“Waves of Awareness will unite communities across northern Ohio to honor and remember our friends and family members lost to accidental overdoses,” Daniel Lettenberger-Klein, CEO of Stella Maris said. “We unite to end the stigma around mental health and addiction and send a message to people who are struggling, or to those that are on the pathway to recovery, that they are loved and valued. We remind our community about the risk of drug overdose by promoting education and resources, supporting evidence-based hard reduction, and reaching out to our public officials to make lifesaving policy changes.”
“On International Overdose Awareness Day, we remember those we’ve lost to overdose, and we act to prevent future tragedies. The Waves of Awareness event is an opportunity to remember and let people know that treatment works and people recover,” Scott S. Osiecki, CEO of the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Cuyahoga County said.
The Waves of Awareness Coalition includes: Stella Maris, Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Cuyahoga County, City of Cleveland, Cleveland Public Square, DEA Family Summit, Downtown Cleveland, Edna House for Women, Glenbeigh, Greater Cleveland Transit Authority, LIUNA, Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services (MHARS) Board of Lorain County, MetroHealth, Northern Ohio Recovery Association, Ohio LECET, Ohio Laborers’ District Council, Ohio National Guard Counterdrug Program, Project Noelle, Project White Butterfly, The MILES Group, The Center for Health Affairs, The Soar Initiative, Thrive for Change, Thrive Peer Recovery Services, University Hospital Project Dawn and Waverly Willis.
For more information about Waves of Awareness, visit www.stellamariscleveland.com/woa or call 216.727.2066. Founded in 1948, Stella Maris is Northeast Ohio’s oldest addiction treatment provider and one of two stand-alone detox providers in Greater Cleveland.