Every year in North Little Rock, families of overdose victims gather for an awareness event

North Little Rock, Arkansas – At North Little Rock’s Riverfront Park on Saturday, the fifth annual “Bridge the Gap” event took place.

It brought together families who had lost loved ones to overdoses and individuals who had battled addiction. It was organized by the Hope Movement Coalition and the CWC Alliance.

In 2019, Staci James identified a need and wanted to address it, so she established the Hope Movement Coalition.

James remarked, “I lost my son in March of that year.” “We wanted no other family in the state of Arkansas to be unable to talk about what was going on in their lives, whether they had a loved one struggling with substance use disorder or they had lost a loved one. I realized that there was nothing in place to support me, to support my loss, and I slowly met other Arkansas families, and we came together to form this coalition.”

Ever since the group has offered assistance to anyone experiencing this unfathomable calamity.

Samantha Rudd is one of those people; in 2021, she lost her daughter Brittani to fentanyl.

Rudd remarked, “We were just devastated to lose her.” She was always grinning and a radiant light. Yes, she is truly missed.

Events like this, according to Rudd, are beneficial because they allow her and others to commemorate their departed loved ones and support those in need.

Carmen Jones stated the same thing after losing her daughter Jasmine the previous year.

Jones remarked, “It makes me feel like I got a lot of support.” “I had no idea that so many families, just like mine, were going through this.”

Those families paid tribute to their loved ones and their memories collectively.

According to James, these are the kinds of talks that must go on since the organization is all about “stopping the stigma” and enabling surviving loved ones to discuss their grief without feeling guilty or ashamed.

According to James, “it is impossible to throw a rock in Arkansas and miss someone who has been impacted by the fentanyl or opioid crisis.” “Everyone wants to prevent death. We wish to save others the suffering that we have endured.”

James added that although more individuals are losing loved ones as a result of the Hope Movement Coalition’s expansion, it is still good that they have this support system available.

James reports that more than a thousand people from eleven different states attended the “Bridge the Gap” event the previous year.