“In Memory, We Chalk” Overdose Awareness Event Held in Downtown Kenton This Afternoon

Local organizations, along with members of the community, showed up in support of the “In Memory, We Chalk” event that was held at the Courthouse Square in downtown Kenton this afternoon.

According to a May 2024 release from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, in 2023, more than 70,000 Americans fatally overdosed on illegally made fentanyl.   

The total number of fentanyl-related opioid deaths was 3,579 in the State of Ohio, according to Ohio Attorney General Yost’s Scientific Committee on Opioid Overdose and Prevention Education (SCOPE), which monitors such deaths statewide using Ohio Department of Health data.

The Drug Overdose Awareness event in Kenton was held from 12:00pm until 2:00pm.

The ‘In Memory, We Chalk’ event was established to memorialize members of the community who have lost their life from an overdose and to help spread awareness in the community on this growing concern.

Various community organizations participated in the event and provided the community with chalk, refreshments, harm reduction supplies and personal hygiene products.

Members from Wings-Support and Recovery, Lighthouse Behavioral Health Solutions, Family Resource Center, the Kenton-Hardin Health Department, OhioHealth Hardin Memorial Hospital and PASS were on-site to promote awareness and offer resources to the community.

Multiple memorials were chalked around the Hardin County Courthouse remembering the lives of many in the community who have lost their lives due to overdose.

There were also a multitude of inspirational messages that were created as well, to help support and encourage those currently in the grasp of addiction and in recovery.