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The Office and Public Health, S.A.R.A.H, and Millie Mattered Overdose and Addiction Advocacy group will be hosting a Drug Epidemic Awareness Walk this Saturday, April 1, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. beginning at the Downtown Marina in Houma. The Office of Public Health will be distributing free doses of anti-overdose medicine narcan, fentanyl test strips, and information about community resources.
“This walk is a part of the Louisiana Drug Epidemic Awareness Walk Across America, a national campaign that was started in 2020 that I serve as coordinator for,” said Millie Mattered Founder and overdose awareness advocate Lilly Harvey. “Louisiana is number-one in overdose deaths per capita so we knew we needed to do something to raise awareness.” The Drug Epidemic Awareness Walk has been hugely successful, taking place in cities all across the state of Louisiana. “In 2021, we held five walks,” said Harvey. “Then in 2022 we held ten walks. And now, in 2023 alone, we have held fourteen walks already. These are walks for those who lost family members, stand strong for those struggling, or want to help save more lives.”
However, coordinating the Louisiana Drug Epidemic Awareness Walk is not all that Harvey does to raise overdose awareness– in 2017, the community advocate founded Millie Mattered Overdose and Addiction Advocacy. “I lost my daughter Millie to fentanyl overdose,” explained Harvey. “I wanted to raise awareness but there really wasn’t anyone advocating in southern Louisiana. So I hosted events to raise awareness and Millie Mattered just grew.” Harvey also works as a public awareness speaker, hosts overdose awareness memorials, and has recently advocated to have ‘Millie’s Law’ passed in State Legislature, which successfully made the presence of fentanyl in heroine a criminal offense.
Come out and support Harvey’s mission to bring awareness to the drug epidemic and end overdoses In the community. For more information about the Drug Epidemic Awareness Walk Across America, please visit Millie Mattered’s Facebook or website.
