HYANNIS – Raising awareness about the opioid epidemic will be a major focus across Cape Cod this weekend.
Open Doorway of Cape Cod’s second Cape Cod Run For Recovery Relay Race will see teams of runners carry purple flags from Bourne to Provincetown Saturday and Sunday.
The runners will also be placing flags at the police station in each town along the way, except for Barnstable. The Barnstable flag will be placed at the Hyannis Village Green for the 6th annual Candlelight Overdose Vigil.
The vigil, which is being co-sponsored by Open Doorway of Cape Cod, Parents Supporting Parents and the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
The vigil will include guest speakers, singers and a slide show. Attendees are also encouraged to bring pictures of loved ones lost to overdoses.
“We’re really continuing the need to remove the stigma and shame that keeps people from getting the help they need,” said Open Doorway of Cape Cod board member and relay organizer Joan Peters-Gilmartin. “[And] trying to let people know that they don’t have to battle this alone out there.”
Peters-Gilmartin said the event tries to keep the community aware that the problem is not going away, but is getting worse.
The relay race is also still in need of participants.
“We still need runners,” Peters-Gilmartin said. “Some of the towns are under-represented, particularly Dennis, Yarmouth, Chatham and Orleans.”
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