Spectrum Health to host 6th annual free community event

‘Not One More’ on Global International Overdose Awareness Day calendar

Spectrum Health and Human Services press release

Spectrum Health and Human Services will present the sixth annual “Not One More: Stand Together to End Overdose,” a free evening of music, remembrance and resources on Wednesday, Aug. 26. The event runs from 5-8 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park in West Seneca (1250 Union Road, behind Town Hall).

This free, family-friendly event is a community collaboration to commemorate International Overdose Awareness Day, a global initiative to raise awareness and remember lives lost to substance use.

Friends and family members are invited to bring a photograph of a loved one who lost their life to overdose: these photos will be added to custom-made “We Remember Them” banner.

“Speaking the name of our loved ones keeps their memory alive,” said Cherie Messore, who organizes this event for Spectrum Health. “Remember our loved ones honors their lives and inspires other individuals.”

Guests can also place their handprint on a canvas to send a “high five” to a loved one: this activity will be led by the Spectrum Health Buffalo Hope COMHPS team.

Popular local band The Kensingtons will perform on the Lions Club bandshell. The Kensingtons are well-known in music circles for regular appearances on regional stages and community awareness events.

Students from Datu’s Tribe from Horizon Martial Arts in West Seneca will provide a demonstration. Practicing martial arts is powerful mental-physical health connection that guides practitioners.

Representatives from 16 local agencies will also be there with resources, including Erie County’s Department of Health harm reduction team, Kids Escaping Drug, Crisis Services, WNY Compassion Connection, Endeavor Health Services and Horizon Health Services.

There will also be family activities, from the Explore & More – The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Children’s Museum, and the Healthy Cruiser from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of WNY, face-painting, and food trucks, too.

For more information, call 716-662-2040.

Spectrum Health and Human Services offers mental health, addiction, rehabilitation, care coordination, housing, and crisis services across various locations in Western New York. Established in 1973, its counseling clinics are Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers (CCBHC). For more information, visit www.shswny.org.