Many people in Lewis County face battles with addiction — a fight in which overdoses and deaths are a very real possibility.
“Today, by the grace of God and with the help of people who believed in me when I couldn't believe in myself, I have five months and 14 days sober,” Clarissa Folkman announced proudly to a crowd of people in Centralia’s George Washington Park Monday evening.
“Some people might hear that and think it's not a long time, but for someone who spent 19 years trapped in addiction, every single day is a victory,” she said.
A crowd of people wearing purple shirts and bandanas gathered at the park for more than three hours to observe Overdose Awareness Day.
During the event, Folkman shared the origins of her addiction, stretching back to trauma in her childhood and adolescence. She described the struggles it has caused in her life.
She recounted two near-death experiences due to overdoses. She also proudly announced her accomplishments after entering into medication-assisted treatment that has helped provide a hopeful future for her, her fiance and her two young sons.
As part of the event, local organizations, county agencies and businesses set up information tables in the park for the annual overdose awareness event, which also welcomed survivors and a member of law enforcement to speak.
To end the evening, the whole group went on a “Walk of Remembrance” through downtown in memory of those lost to addiction and overdose.
“This is a day to remember those who have died from overdose,” Gather Church Pastor Patty Howard said. “It's also a day to recognize those who have struggled with substances and who still struggle, as well as a day for those who are in recovery.”
As the first of the annual event without the late Gather Church Pastor Cole Meckle, it also served as a reminder of his past service to the community.
Howard asked attendees to participate in a moment of silence before reminding them of the importance of the event in the eyes of the now deceased Gather Church founder and local harm reduction leader.
“This was one of his babies, and he wanted to remember those who were lost to overdose and their families and friends who were left behind,” Howard said. “He made sure that this happened every year because it's important to recognize people that other people don't necessarily see.”
After an introduction from Howard, Centralia police officer Julie Jacobo spoke on the challenges of combating overdoses in the community. Jacobo shared that she has had family members who have struggled with addiction and emphasized her hopes as a police officer to help prevent overdoses.
To that end, she asked attendees to always cooperate with officers to help them locate the source of dangerous substances, including the increasingly prevalent and lethal synthetic opioid fentanyl.
“I don't know very many people who use drugs to overdose. That is not their goal, to overdose,” Jacobo said. “It is my job to try to track that drug back and try to figure out where this accidental overdose came from.”
An active participant of the Lewis County Drug Court program, Aaron Malone shared the personal toll of addiction on himself, his family and his friends.
“I just lost my brother about five months ago, and I found my way to the program,” Malone said. “At one point, thinking back on it, I remember losing more than a friend a month for over a year straight. I've seen so many people pass.”
Malone recounted his efforts to bring his brother into the program and remarks from him expressing fear about such a change, not knowing what life was like on the other side.
Malone left the crowd with a simple message: “I know that if I don't use, I got somewhat of chance.”
Before beginning the annual Walk of Remembrance through downtown Centralia, event organizer Rachel Robidoux asked volunteers to come forward for an uplifting exercise.
Walking one direction, participants shared the tough words they had heard as they faced addiction, often being told they would never escape or would amount to nothing. Walking back the other direction, they shared words of hope, calling themselves, strong and amazing while locking arms.
The event drew heavy inspiration from Meckle who, as Howard said throughout the event, believed that stigma and judgement are at the heart of addiction.
“If he were here today, he would talk about stigma, and about how stigma causes shame, and how shame is the root of addiction,” Howard said. “He would say we need to see every person as a person no matter who they are or where they come from. No matter what decisions they’ve made in the past or what decisions they’re making in the present.”
