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September is National Recovery Month, and the Jessamine County Health Department (JCHD) is starting it off by honoring those lost to overdose and springing the community into action. 

On Friday, August 30 from 5 to 7 p.m. will be the JCHD’s fourth annual Overdose 2 Action day. This year, the event will be hosted on the Main Street Courthouse lawn. After the memorial event at 6 p.m., the event will move across the street to the Shepherd’s House Recovery Community Center for a time of celebration to kick off the month.  

This year, the event is being organized by Harm Reduction Coordinator Hannah Ard of the JCHD Harm Reduction team. 

As reported by the Journal from a recent health department update at the Nicholasville Rotary Club, since 2022– Jessamine County has had a 28 percent decrease in overdose deaths. 

The Harm Reduction team provided statistics at the Rotary meeting, showing the difference the Health Department has made by “meeting people who use drugs where they’re at,” as Ard said it. In 2017, Jessamine County ranked sixth in overdose deaths per capita at 56.2 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 people. In 2018, there were 728 drug-related arrests in the county. 

Since 2022, grants have bolstered Harm Reduction efforts in the county– including the JCHD’s syringe exchange program, the Harm Reduction director and team, Narcan access, and events like Overdose 2 Action Day.