The first Pahrump Overdose Awareness Day event sees a strong turnout.

International Overdose Awareness Day was established two and a half decades ago and this year, Pahrump joined in the observation with its very first awareness event, hosted by Nevada Stronger in collaboration with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

The Inaugural Overdose Awareness Day event took place Monday, August 31 at the United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, which had been transformed into a resource hub with tables set all around the main room and rows of chairs placed in readiness for the afternoon’s opening remarks. Representatives of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation welcomed the crowd that had gathered and Pastor George Barcus offered an invocation. Nevada Stronger Lead Clinician Michelle Cicconi-Storm then took to the microphone for her remarks.

“Today is an opportunity to remember the people we have lost, to acknowledge family and friends whose lives have been forever changed by overdose and, just as importantly, to remind our community that recovery is possible and that help is available,” Cicconi-Storm told the audience.

She went on to report that, per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the national rate of overdose has declined for the last three years. However, there were still nearly 70,000 lives lost to overdose in 2025, a figure that she said is simply not acceptable.

“There is still a great deal of work to do. Every statistic, every number in that rate is somebody’s son, daughter, a parent, a loved one or just somebody who is struggling. And one of the reasons we wanted to hold this was to bring together different pieces of our community that can make a difference in this,” Cicconi-Storm continued. “It takes all of us doing this together.”

Throughout the course of the event there were 45 recorded interactions at the Nevada Stronger booth, 39 Nevada Stronger pamphlets distributed, 28 Narcan kits distributed containing two doses each and 50 free meals provided to attendees by local food truck Hookers Fish and Chips.

In total there were 14 participating vendors and community partners participating and overall attendance was estimated at approximately 80 people. Vendors included Nye County Health and Human Services, WestCare Nevada, OakTree Counseling, CareSource Medicaid, Las Vegas Recovery Hospital, Toni’s House SLE, Nevada Rural Clinics, Living Free Health and Fitness, Drug Court alumni, Nevada Stronger, Region 51 Narcotics Anonymous Public Relations, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, SilverSummit Medicaid and Shannon Farabee of Learning to LIVE with HIV.

“It was incredibly encouraging and heartening to see our community step up and come together for this event,” Cicconi-Storm told the Pahrump Valley Times afterward. “We may not be on the exact same page but we can at least be in the same book. By working together - as treatment providers, community organizations, recovery supports and community members - that we can truly reduce the impact of overdose in our community.”

Nevada Stronger Case Manager Lonnie Harris noted that the latest CDC projections show that nearly 68,000 people will lose their lives to a drug overdose in a 12-month period in the U.S. and as Cicconi-Storm highlighted, behind each number is a person with a family and a community deeply impacted.

“That is why events like Overdose Awareness Day are so important,” Harris concluded. “Recovery cannot happen in isolation. It takes treatment providers, families, people in recovery, community organizations, faith communities, healthcare providers and neighbors standing together. When we unite around treatment, compassion, prevention and recovery, we begin creating a community where recovery is not only possible—it is welcomed, supported, and celebrated. Together, we can create an atmosphere of recovery and together, we can make Nevada stronger.”

For more information on Nevada Stronger, contact Harris at Lonnie.H@VegasStronger.org or call 661-541-4531. The Nevada Stronger Pahrump Office is located at 1111 S. Highway 160, Suite 4, in the shopping plaza off Postal Road.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com