ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — August 31 might seem like any other day to most people, but to Michelle Lynam it’s a day to remember her son, Greg, who struggled with addiction for about a decade before he decided to get clean.

He was in recovery for about four years before he relapsed, and died of an overdose shortly after.

The date was adopted globally as International Overdose Awareness Day to honor those who lost their lives to addiction.

In 2019, Michelle and Stacey Lingafelt, another woman who lost her son to addiction created the event in Blair County for those who are grieving the loss of their loved ones, to come to celebrate their lives together and to raise awareness.

This year, they will be holding the event again with the message to show compassion.

Jaque Harpster, a facilitator of the event, says there is a stigma surrounding overdoses and it’s important to remember who the person was in life, not in death.  

“Everybody who dies from an overdose is somebody’s daughter or son, [it] could be parent, could be best friend,” said Harpster, “when you attend an event like this, you put faces with names. You put numbers with those things and it certainly makes it real.”

The event, meant to commemorate International Overdose Awareness day, will be held on Saturday, August 29 at Highland Park in Altoona. 

It starts at 6 p.m. and is free for anyone to attend.  

Later in the evening, there will be a butterfly release and a memorial tree with photos to display locals who have lost their lives to overdose.  

For more information, call Michelle Lynam at 814-312-7624, or email mlynam2@aol.com.