PLEASANTVILLE - Atlantic Prevention Resources, in partnership with Angels in Motion, Positive Pursuit, Atlantic County Addiction Services and South Jersey AIDS Alliance, invites community members, families and local leaders to a solemn event 9 a.m. to noon Friday, Aug. 15 at Christ Worship Center Worldwide, 429 W. Bayview Ave. to honor lives lost to drug overdose and inspire change through awareness and action.
The Purple Flag Initiative is an overdose awareness event that will provide the community with support, recovery, treatment and prevention resources. At 10 a.m., the event will feature individuals speaking about their experiences losing a loved one to overdose and how that impacted their lives. It will end with a powerful, visual display of purple flags, symbols of remembrance and hope and a moment of silence and prayer.
“Every purple flag tells a story of a life cherished,” APR Community Initiatives Coordinator Jennifer Pielhau said. “This event is not only a tribute to lives lost too soon, but a call to action for our community to come together and prevent future losses.”
The event will include a field of 160 purple flags, each representing one life lost to overdose in Atlantic County in 2024. Attendees will have the opportunity to place individual flags alongside those already planted to represent their loved ones. The event embodies the theme of turning pain into purpose.
Atlantic Prevention Resources and its partners encourage everyone affected by overdose, whether personally or as part of a community, to attend this gathering of hearts united for healing and prevention.
The event is supported by a Drug Free Communities grant through Atlantic Prevention Resources’ Greater Atlantic Partnership coalition. The event is also made possible through generous support of sponsors.
For more information about Atlantic Prevention Resources and the Greater Atlantic Partnership, please contact Jennifer Pielhau at [email protected] or visit www.jtacnj.org.
