LOUISVILLE, Ky. — August 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day, and dozens gathered in Jefferson Square Park for a rally to remember those lost to drug overdoses.
Advocacy group VOCAL KY was joined by local politicians and families who have lost loved ones to substance abuse. Organizers called for statewide policy change, emphasizing a "failed drug war" and call to reject a "tough on crime" approach.
"We knew we cannot incarcerate our way out of this problem," U.S. Congressman Morgan McGarvey, D-3, said.
The march swept through downtown Louisville and ended at the Muhammad Ali Center.
"I want this to end, this war on drugs" Zachery James, an attendee, said.
James has a heart wrenching story.
"My mother died to this," he said. "My adoptive mother died, I found her on the floor dead."
His sister died of a drug overdose as well.
"She's in a big cloud in the sky," he said, remembering her. "I want this to end because I've lost too many people to it."
Samantha Elkins is a mother, and in long term recovery after overdosing more than 10 times.
She said she's "living proof" that the live-saving medication naloxone works.
She also lost the father of her son, Blair, to an overdose.
"We believe that this is what Blair would want, is for us to speak up, to say his name," Elkins said.
She's reversed more than five overdoses -- that's five lives saved.
"I'm a full believer in everyone should carry naloxone, or Narcan, and should know the facts about it," Elkins said.
She called on policymakers to ensure greater access to resources, especially for vulnerable communities.
“Addiction is something that doesn’t discriminate no matter what your background is," Elkins said.
Marchers chanted "no more drug war" and "overdose has got to go" during the event.
Jefferson County is getting $57 million over the next 18 years to target these issues.
McGarvey is calling for specific investments.
"I think we have to look at investing in treatment, in harm reduction strategies, and access to mental health," McGarvey said.
Metro Councilwoman Shameka Parrish-Wright, District 3, said the fund has already been directed to treatment, supplying Narcan to incarcerated people at Louisville Metro Department of Corrections and to build a Louisville Care Campus.
Kentucky saw a decrease in overdose deaths last year, but still 1,984 people died in 2023, according to state data.
"If you go around Louisville right now, you're hard pressed not to find anybody who hasn't lost a family member or a friend to a drug overdose," McGarvey said.
Jeffersonville Police recently installed 25 emergency kits, with over-the-counter overdose-reversal drug Narcan/Naloxone, in "high risk" areas. You can find where kits are located here.
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