An event on Friday is being put on to raise awareness of overdose deaths in the St. Joseph community.

International Overdose Awareness Day is a global event held on August 31st each year.

According to the City of St. Joseph Health Department, in recent months, representatives from a broad range of businesses, agencies, and organizations have been working together to create better ways the community can serve anyone struggling with addiction. The group, informally referred to as the “opioid task force,” is gathering data sets, pooling resources, planning outreach activities for the public and in youth settings, and sharing information in order to build capacity.

The task force has planned a remembrance event for International Overdose Awareness Day.

St. Joseph Youth Alliance Executive Director Robin Hammond said the event will be held Friday to bring awareness in the community of those that have lost their lives due to an overdose.

“Those that have lost a loved one due to overdose are invited to attend and bring a memento of their loved one that can be set aside in honor of that person,” Hammond said. “We’re looking at approximately 40 deaths over the last five years here in our community due to overdose so we want to bring awareness to the issue in our community and to take a moment to remember those loved ones that have lost their life.”

The event will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday at Civic Center Park.

For more information about International Overdose Awareness Day, click here.