{"id":46525,"date":"2023-08-31T10:44:13","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T14:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/?p=46525"},"modified":"2023-08-31T11:05:34","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T15:05:34","slug":"batavia-overdose-awareness-day-shines-light-on-effort-to-spread-hope-and-healing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2023\/08\/31\/batavia-overdose-awareness-day-shines-light-on-effort-to-spread-hope-and-healing\/","title":{"rendered":"BATAVIA\/Overdose Awareness Day shines light on effort to spread \u2018hope and healing\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Mike Pettinella
GCASA Publicist<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cheryl Netter and Scott Davis are two of the fortunate ones. They are people who have survived the grip of addiction and have emerged on the other side, now devoting their lives to helping others who are struggling with substance use disorder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So many others didn\u2019t make it. More than 100,000 in the United States over the past year alone \u2013 and nearly 80 Genesee and Orleans County residents who died of a drug overdose over the past four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sue Gagne\/Co<\/b><\/em>-Chair of event with Scott Davis<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Netter and Davis briefly shared their stories of anguish successful recovery on Wednesday afternoon at the annual Overdose Awareness Day at Austin Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The event, organized to raise awareness of the dangers of opioids and to remember those who have succumbed to an overdose, was coordinated by the Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Opioid Task Force, in conjunction with the National Institute of Health\u2019s HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-Term) Initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recognized as a community \u201chope coach,\u201d Netter said she is \u201can overdose and suicide attempt survivor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLeading up to my (suicide) attempt, much of my struggle and pain I chose not to allow people to see. I spent my younger years masking my way through life, not recognizing or even acknowledging my inner struggles,\u201d she said. \u201cThis led me to dabbling with mental health issues, risky behavior, substance use and trying to (commit) suicide. I stand with you today only by the grace of God, and with many years of recovery and I’m able to tell my story in my own voice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She quickly shifted her focus off of herself to speak about those who are no longer with us because of drugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe’re here and I want to remember and acknowledge those individuals gathered here today, along with their families and friends. Those who aren\u2019t able to tell their story with their own voice due to \u2026losing the struggle of addiction and to talk about the crisis we\u2019re all facing right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Netter encouraged family members and friends to keep the stories of those departed alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re sowing seeds of hope and healing, not only in the hearts and lives of others, but also in our own hearts and our own life,\u201d she said. \u201cStrength and recovery can be found by giving a voice to the stories of those who may otherwise go unseen and unheard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Davis has been a certified peer recovery advocate for the Rochester Regional Health system for the past two years \u2013 a far cry from where he was for most of his adult life while addicted to heroin and fentanyl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He shared that when his mother died in 2008, his life spiraled out of control and the result was incarceration, institutions and near death. Eventually, and with the help of medication for opioid use disorder and support from family and friends, Davis pulled himself up, and continues in his recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two years ago, his brother died from an overdose, a searing pain that he said he is \u201cworking through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery day, there is something that reminds me of him,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s always there with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Paul Pettit with Peter Mittiga\/Genesee County Deputy Director of Community Mental Health, and John Bennett<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other speakers included John Bennett<\/strong>, chief executive officer at Genesee\/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Paul Pettit<\/strong>, public health director for Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments, and Dawn Stone<\/strong>, peer advocate at Spectrum Health in Wyoming County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John<\/strong> Bennett: We\u2019re Working to Save Lives<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou would think that in the year 2023, with all of the people who have come out publicly \u2013 all the movie stars and athletes that have come out and talked about their addiction \u2013 that the stigma would reduce? But it hasn\u2019t. It\u2019s still there,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cSo, I just want to thank all the people here today who are recovery warriors. It\u2019s the work that you guys do every day. The support agencies like GCASA, to support the people in the community, that really make a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He mentioned how the agency has grown in recent years from 65 to almost 200 employees, and adding needed services such as housing for various groups, childcare, transportation and The Recovery Station social meeting place on Clinton Street Road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe also provide services for the homeless, particularly through a homeless housing grant that we recently got,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be working on coming up with transitional housing crisis beds for these folks, where they will have a place to stay for seven to 15 days. Those are hard to find, but we\u2019re working to make those come true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bennett said recovery workers are making a difference by trying to save lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy heart goes out to all of you who have lost a loved one. I can\u2019t imagine the grief and loss. But, know that we\u2019re trying to make a difference behind the scenes to help future loss of life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Paul<\/strong> Pettit: An \u2018Urgent Public Health Threat\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pettit said that data shows that the opioid epidemic continues to be a \u201cvery urgent public health and public safety threat in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDrug overdose deaths continue to be the number one leading cause of injury mortality in the United States,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been that way for many years now. And unfortunately, it’s probably going to continue to be the number one cause of death. It’s more than vehicle accidents and other types of injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

More than 100,000 people died by overdose last year in the U.S., he said, adding that since 2019, there have been 56 overdose deaths in Genesee County and 23 overdose deaths in Orleans County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s 79 individuals that have lost their lives to overdoses that we could have prevented; that we are working to prevent it. And that’s why we’re here today — to bring awareness to that and to honor them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pettit credited the GOW Opioid Task Force, a three-county coalition founded in 2017, and the more recent HEALing Genesee initiative for examples of community human services agencies coming together to fight this epidemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n

\u201cThree areas that we continue to focus on in the community is opioid overdose prevention and education and naloxone (Narcan) distribution \u2026 medication for opioid use disorder and linking individuals to treatment, and safer opioid prescribing and dispensing.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Dawn<\/strong> Stone: \u2018It Takes a Community\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noting that she provides support and encouragement for people from the age of 5 to 90, Stone said \u201cit takes a community\u201d to combat the increasing mental health and substance use epidemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recovery for 19 years, she said that 21 people have died due to an overdose in Wyoming County in recent years, with 41 being the average age of those individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just young people,\u201d she said. \u201cSubstance use affects all ages. We need to ask our elders, \u2018Are you OK?\u2019 and offer them the help they need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To conclude the program, Brandi Smith of Batavia, who has been in recovery from heroin, fentanyl and cocaine for six years, read a poem, No Hero in Heroin, in memory of her brother, Jason, who died of an overdose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In part, the poem states, \u201cSo alone, so filled with fear, but I kept on swimming, well, drowning in tears; I never gave up, finally said my goodbyes, found beauty in life, without you by my side; You\u2019re part of my past now, no longer a friend, despite you name, there\u2019s no HERO in heroin.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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By Mike PettinellaGCASA Publicist Cheryl Netter and Scott Davis are two of the fortunate ones. They are people who have survived the grip of addiction and have emerged on the other side, now devoting their lives to helping others who are struggling with substance use disorder. So many others didn\u2019t \u2026<\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-batavia","category-genesee-county"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8eTP4-c6p","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":67498,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2025\/08\/26\/batavia-photos-genesee-orleans-wyoming-cares-alliance-overdose-awareness-day-at-st-anthonys-on-tuesday-evening\/","url_meta":{"origin":46525,"position":0},"title":"BATAVIA\/Photos\/Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming CARES Alliance Overdose Awareness Day at St. Anthony’s on Tuesday evening","author":"aka","date":"August 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Previously: BATAVIA\/International Overdose Awareness Day includes event at St. Anthony\u2019s, Batavia \u2013 Video News Service","rel":"","context":"In "Batavia"","block_context":{"text":"Batavia","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/gennesse-county\/batavia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20250826_185208.jpg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20250826_185208.jpg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20250826_185208.jpg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20250826_185208.jpg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20250826_185208.jpg?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55678,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2024\/08\/09\/genesee-county-overdose-awareness-day-campaign-includes-event-at-austin-park-batavia\/","url_meta":{"origin":46525,"position":1},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Overdose Awareness Day campaign includes event at Austin Park, Batavia","author":"aka","date":"August 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Press release: \u201cTogether we can\u201d is the theme for this year\u2019s International Overdose Awareness Day campaign \u2013 the annual observance that includes a local event from 3-7 p.m. Aug. 28 at Austin Park in Batavia. The world\u2019s largest annual movement to end overdose, IOAD is dedicated to remembering without stigma\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Batavia"","block_context":{"text":"Batavia","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/gennesse-county\/batavia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67267,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2025\/08\/20\/batavia-international-overdose-awareness-day-includes-event-at-st-anthonys-batavia\/","url_meta":{"origin":46525,"position":2},"title":"BATAVIA\/International Overdose Awareness Day includes event at St. Anthony\u2019s, Batavia","author":"aka","date":"August 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Press release: \u201cOne big family, driven by hope\u201d is the theme for this year\u2019s International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) campaign \u2013 the annual observance that includes a local event from 4 - 7 p.m. August 26th at St. Anthony\u2019s in Batavia, hosted by the Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming CARES Alliance. The world\u2019s largest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Batavia"","block_context":{"text":"Batavia","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/gennesse-county\/batavia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/thumbnail_uconnectcare_logo_color_b4f628d9-b6d9-45fc-b588-af5b84a23ee9.png?fit=1200%2C461&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/thumbnail_uconnectcare_logo_color_b4f628d9-b6d9-45fc-b588-af5b84a23ee9.png?fit=1200%2C461&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/thumbnail_uconnectcare_logo_color_b4f628d9-b6d9-45fc-b588-af5b84a23ee9.png?fit=1200%2C461&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/thumbnail_uconnectcare_logo_color_b4f628d9-b6d9-45fc-b588-af5b84a23ee9.png?fit=1200%2C461&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/thumbnail_uconnectcare_logo_color_b4f628d9-b6d9-45fc-b588-af5b84a23ee9.png?fit=1200%2C461&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44272,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2023\/07\/05\/genesee-orleans-wyoming-counties-healing-genesee-banks-on-proven-strategies-to-reduce-opioid-related-overdose-fatalities\/","url_meta":{"origin":46525,"position":3},"title":"GENESEE\/ORLEANS & WYOMING COUNTIES\/HEALing Genesee banks on proven strategies to reduce opioid-related overdose fatalities","author":"aka","date":"July 5, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"On A Mission to HEAL:\u00a0Leading the HEALing Genesee initiative to reduce opioid overdose deaths are, from left, Columbia University research team members Louisa Gilbert, Nabila El-Bassel, Timothy Hunt and James David; Christen Foley, Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Opioid Task Force coordinator; Paul Pettit, public health director for Genesee & Orleans Health Department; Randi\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Genesee County"","block_context":{"text":"Genesee County","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/genesee-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/HEALing-team-a.jpg?fit=1000%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/HEALing-team-a.jpg?fit=1000%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/HEALing-team-a.jpg?fit=1000%2C436&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/HEALing-team-a.jpg?fit=1000%2C436&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45055,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2023\/07\/29\/batavia-overdose-awareness-day-set-for-august-30th-at-austin-park\/","url_meta":{"origin":46525,"position":4},"title":"BATAVIA\/Overdose Awareness Day set for August 30th at Austin Park","author":"aka","date":"July 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Press release The Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Opioid Task Force, in conjunction with the National Institute of Health\u2019s HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-Term) Initiative, will be commemorating Overdose Awareness Day next month to raise awareness of the dangers of opioids and to remember the lives of those who have succumbed to an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Batavia"","block_context":{"text":"Batavia","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/gennesse-county\/batavia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38151,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2022\/12\/08\/genesee-county-batavia-local-businesses-and-organizations-to-install-naloxbox\/","url_meta":{"origin":46525,"position":5},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Batavia\/Local businesses and organizations to install Naloxbox","author":"aka","date":"December 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Press release According to the CDC, 75% of the nearly 92,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in\u00a02020 involved an opioid. 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