WARREN COUNTY, Ohio — While the summer months may limit how long we see the night sky, residents in Warren and Clinton counties will notice a purple glow at night this month.
The Mental Health Recovery Board Serving Warren and Clinton Counties is leading an initiative called #LightUpPurpleWC, asking residents, local governments and businesses to light up purple, the color representing Overdose Awareness Month.
Watch to see how different areas in Warren and Clinton County are lit up for Overdose Awareness Month:
One of the people participating at her home is Franklin firefighter paramedic Katie Williams.
“I feel that if you know somebody sees that light, and that they know they’re not alone, whether they’re a family member struggling or they’re the person struggling themselves," Williams said.
Williams has responded to overdoses over the years in her profession and as part of the local quick response team, Project HOPE, which stands for Helping Overdose through Prevention and Education.
"We go out once a week as a team and talk to people who have overdosed, have any type of problems with substance use, alcohol, homelessness, mental health. Kind of whatever that need is, we meet with them face-to-face, try to break down any barriers and help connect them to treatment," Williams said.
One place you can find a large purple display is the City of Franklin's Main Street, where I spoke to City Manager Jonathan Westendorf.
“I think it means the world to those people that understand what that is," Westendorf said.
Westendorf took me around the special light display that's been changed to purple this month and told me about the strides Warren County has made in lowering the number of overdoses.
"In fact, this year we went for an entire five-month span between overdoses, which is really unheard of generally, but certainly in this community," Westendorf said.
Westendorf told me that part of the improvement is a decreased stigma and more people offering a helping hand.
"There are more and more people who are stepping forward and saying I’d like to help or recognizing they have a family member that maybe they didn't recognize what was happening early on, but now, through acceptance and the willingness to get involved, say, you know what? This is something that has actually touched my family, and I want to be a part of that solution, and that's what community's all about, and that’s awesome," Westendorf said.
WCPO 9 has continued to focus on highlighting solutions to substance abuse and local recovery efforts. You can read more of our coverage here.
