MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – On Aug. 27 at 7 p.m., WakeUp Carolina will host its inaugural “Light the Way for Hope” event at Unity Park on East Main Street in downtown Moncks Corner.
“We are going to honor lives lost to substances during Overdose Awareness Day. It’s the first one here in Berkeley County,” said Dean Stephens, WakeUp Carolina’s director of development for Berkeley County. “It’s an intimate event, but it’s also a way to show support for friends and families who’ve lost somebody.”
The special remembrance ceremony will allow guests to share a loved one’s name, photo and a brief message to be featured in a heartfelt social media post and on a luminary bag during the event.
“You can go to WakeupCarolina.org if you would like to submit a name, and we’ll put the name on a luminary bag for you,” Stephens said.
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Representatives with the town of Moncks Corner, the Moncks Corner Police Department and the Berkeley County Coroner’s Office will be in attendance. The event will also highlight overdose prevention and feature Narcan training.
Overdose Awareness Day is the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose, remember without stigma those who have died and acknowledge the grief of family and friends left behind.
“Let’s unite to remember and raise awareness about overdose, supporting one another with compassion and understanding,” WakeUp Carolina’s event page reads.
Nearly 2,300 South Carolinians died from a drug overdose in 2022, a number that has been increasing for more than a decade, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Berkeley County, the latest data from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control shows that 46 people died from fentanyl, two from methadone and 16 from cocaine in 2022.
To help support families and friends who have loved ones coping with addiction or who’ve lost the battle to it, WakeUp Carolina opened its doors in Moncks Corner in March. The nonprofit’s mission is to help address the alarming rise in substance misuse in the Lowcountry and offer hope in recovery.
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