Sarasota Fights Fentanyl event: Hundreds walk Ringling Bridge on Labor Day

SARASOTA, Fla. - Hundreds of people gathered in Sarasota on Labor Day to walk across the Ringling Bridge for the third annual Sarasota Fights Fentanyl event to honor lives lost and help those struggling with addiction.

Sarasota fentanyl awareness walk

The backstory:

The Sarasota Fights Fentanyl Walk and Resource Fair event brought hundreds of community members together on Labor Day to walk across the Ringling Bridge.

Participants registered at 9 a.m. at J.D. Hamel Park before beginning the walk at 10 a.m. Organizers created the family-friendly event to remember individuals who died from drug overdoses while offering hope and guidance to people battling active addiction.

A tiny amount of fentanyl can be lethal, with a deadly dose equal to just two tiny grains of salt. The illicit drug is virtually imperceptible to the naked eye because it cannot be seen, tasted, smelled or touched in a drug supply.

"To raise awareness to the lives that are being lost still that this fight is not over until we all come together and are fighting together to help the people," Yvonne Hawke, operations manager of Hand up to Victory, said. "You see somebody struggling in the streets to stop and have a resource available. You come here, you get to see the resources, share the information with other people, people that you see struggling."

J.D. Hamel Park resource fair

What's next:

Following the walk over the Ringling Bridge, a community resource fair at J.D. Hamel Park will run until 1 p.m. The fair features therapists, counselors and more than 40 recovery and mental health organizations providing guidance to anyone in need.

Organizers plan to continue expanding the event each year as community demand for addiction support grows.

Community addiction recovery support

What they're saying:

Each step gave those who turned out the power to stand up with "Sarasota Fights Fentanyl."

"I want to save as many lives as I can by showing awareness," Jodiee Harris said. 

"The fact that they’re showing up year after year, and they’re calling and asking to be here, says a lot, it speaks to what we are doing in the community to start to slow down and hopefully stop this terrible epidemic," event organizer Toni Lemieux said.

Justin White, who has been sober for two years, said participating carries personal meaning.

"The last words that my friend said to me is that we would die with the disease of addiction, but not die from it," White said. "Unfortunately, he lost his life three days later. It’s been my mission to walk out recovery in his honor and not end up being a statistic of somebody who dies from this drug."

Brianna Malaterra, who lost her parents to addiction, said the event brings comfort to surviving family members.

"I think it kind of helps me realize they’re not just a statistic, and there’s other people who have gone through this as well," Malaterra said.

Resources filled J.D. Hamel Park. From free Narcan to detox and places like The Crossings Transformational Recovery. 

"I don't think a lot of people don’t realize the numbers of resources that we do actually have in Sarasota and Manatee counties. I think that this gives them a quick idea of who we are and who can help them, and they can reach out to any single person here," Lynda Sauls, director of client services with The Crossings, said.

Kimberly Vaught Merchant agreed. 

"Today might be the last day and if we get those resources out to them, it doesn’t have to be," she said. 

Lemieux started "Sarasota Fights Fentanyl" with the goal of saving as many lives as the community can together. 

"Each year it has just gotten bigger and bigger as word has gotten out. For me, it is breaking the stigma that addicts don’t matter or addicts can’t recover, and they absolutely can," Lemieux said. 

Lemieux lives out the mission with every step forward. 

"Watch the walk over the bridge or look in this park, and you’ll see a thousand miracles standing here," Lemieux said. 

Sarasota