歪歪漫画

BEMIDJI 鈥� Community members gathered Friday evening to collectively walk over 100 miles in an effort to raise awareness for those impacted by drug overdoses.

Hosted by the Northwest Indian Community Development Center, the inaugural Overdose Awareness Walk took place on the track outside of J.W. Smith Elementary 歪歪漫画 and invited participants to help walk 100 miles in support of overdose awareness.

鈥淭his (event) is the first of its kind,鈥� Bird said. 鈥淭here have been lots of overdose awareness memorials, dinners, conferences, but there's never been a walk like this.鈥�

Charley Gilbert / Bemidji Pioneer

Energy was high as the walk kicked off at 5 p.m. The participants started taking laps with a cheer, with a few people starting to break out into run.

With 85 registered participants, the 100-mile goal was reached by 6:30, with a total of 160 miles, or 640 laps, walked.

鈥淚 was so nervous leading up to this 鈥� I was thinking to myself, 鈥榃hat if only five people show up?鈥欌�� NWICDC Ombishkaa Lead Coordinator Mindie Bird said. 鈥淥ur community has risen to the occasion. That's what I love about community 鈥� it brings people together and shares a common goal with a common purpose.鈥�

Charley Gilbert / Bemidji Pioneer

Throughout the evening, vendors and volunteers provided support, information and resources for families and friends who have lost loved ones due to overdose. There were also helpful resources available to those who are currently struggling with addiction or mental health issues.

The event also served as an opportunity to honor those who have died due to drug overdose with each attendee having the option to walk with a memorial balloon. Some walked in support, while others had a specific person they were honoring.

鈥淚 think in Bemidji, overdose here isn鈥檛 spoken about enough,鈥� Bird said. 鈥淎nd I would be really hard-pressed to find anybody in this city who hasn't known someone, loved someone or has had a friend, a colleague or even a loved one that they've known, heard of or have experienced a death due to overdose.鈥�

Charley Gilbert / Bemidji Pioneer

Bird is a firm believer in the use of harm-reduction tactics to fight overdoses, and feels that implementing that method in Bemidji could help prevent deaths.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, harm reduction approaches help reduce certain health and safety issues associated with drug use.

鈥淎s a model of substance use care distinct from treatment or recovery support, harm reduction was created by and for people who use drugs to improve health and wellbeing, including during active drug use,鈥� the NIDA website explains.

Harm reduction strategies often include syringe collection services and naloxone distribution programs.

Charley Gilbert / Bemidji Pioneer

鈥淒ecades of research have shown that some harm reduction strategies provide significant individual and public health benefits, including preventing deaths from overdoses and preventing transmission of infectious diseases among people who use drugs and the larger community,鈥� the website said.

These strategies have been seen to reduce emergency department visits and health care services, while in some cases offering people who use drugs opportunities to connect to substance use treatment and other health care services without the stigma that may come with other types of services.

鈥淥verdose is 100% preventable,鈥� Bird explained. 鈥淚f we're going to save lives, we need to teach people how to use (drugs) safely. Whether we like it or not, drugs and substances are here and pretending like they're not here, and pretending like people can just quit, isn't working anymore.

鈥淪o if people are going to use, let's wrap our arms around them and love them in a safe way. And tell them 鈥榃e love you through your using, but let's do it safely so you can live through this long enough to get help.鈥欌��

Charley Gilbert / Bemidji Pioneer

were also on-site providing attendees with information about the services they offer.

鈥淲e are a mobile unit for harm reduction services,鈥� STAMINA Program Coordinator Bettina Johnsen explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a safety syringe program so we supply clean syringes. We also take dirty syringes for those that don't have a disposal site鈥�We hand out both the nasal Narcan and the injectable Naloxone.鈥�

The mobile unit was implemented in July 2024 in the Duluth area for street outreach. Johnsen added that the intention is to give people a safe way to use to prevent overdose in the community.

鈥淚t's my job to partner with law enforcement as the program coordinator so that we can break that stigma with the community,鈥� Johnsen said. 鈥淎nd then we can do it so that these people have a safe way to use and they feel comfortable coming to us so that it's a safe haven for them.鈥�

Johnsen shared her previous experience with addiction and the lack of education about safely using drugs.

鈥淚'm a person that (used to use) methamphetamines, and I've been abstaining from them since April 2003,鈥� Johnsen shared. 鈥淎nd I knew nothing about harm reduction even though harm reduction had been around for 30-plus years. I knew nothing about it. I did not know about Narcan. I didn't know about the safety of using, supplies and things like that.鈥�

Charley Gilbert / Bemidji Pioneer

Now, Johnsen uses her past experiences as a way to offer support and education about addiction to others in the community.

鈥淚t would have probably made a world of difference had I known (about harm reduction),鈥� Johnsen emphasized. 鈥淪o, being able to just educate people that don't know is really important to me. And that's what we do in our street outreach.鈥�

A primary goal of the mobile unit is to meet people where they are and help them in that moment.

鈥淚 think most of the people that we have in our staff are people with lived experience; it makes a difference if somebody has lived that experience鈥� to help people who are using not feel so alone,鈥� Johnsen said. 鈥淲e're nonjudgmental. We're here to meet that person where they're at and where they feel is best for them at the moment 鈥� we just try to help them with what we can.鈥�

As the night鈥檚 event drew to an end, attendees were scattered around the track chatting and making new connections. Hitting 160 miles left organizers proud of those who came out to support others in the Bemidji community.

鈥淢y goal for this event was for people to feel that safety and that connection 鈥� a sense of community,鈥� Bird left off. 鈥淚 don't want families or survivors or people that have experienced (overdose) to ever feel like they have to be in their grief and loss alone. We heal together as a community. That's how we heal, together.鈥�

Charley Gilbert / Bemidji Pioneer