In 2017, Pasadena resident Denise Williams spoke publicly about how her family was struggling to cope with the loss of her 29-year-old son, Ryan, who died from an opioid overdose.

“I’ve lost one son and I live in fear I’m going to lose the second one,” she said last year.

In February, her fear was realized when her other son, Matt, died of an opioid overdose.

At Arundel Christian Church in Glen Burnie last week, Williams’ was one of a number of stories highlighted as part of International Overdose Awareness Day, an event held Aug. 31 each year aimed at reducing the stigma surrounding drug addiction.

Williams, 61, told people at the gathering that she remembers her two sons as people who had passions for different walks of life.

But the two struggled with addiction as they became adults.

She said Ryan’s battle came after he was in a serious car accident and was prescribed a number of opiate-based painkillers. Matt, she said, used the drugs to cope with personal issues — including the loss of his brother.

Now that she’s lost her sons, she said she hopes telling their stories will empower others like her to reach out for help.

Friday’s event looked to strike a balance between supportive and somber. In the crowd, many wore black T-shirts with numbers on the back; Williams and others said the shirts represented 176 lives lost to drug overdoses between Aug. 31, 2017, and July 31, 2018.

The event also included a slideshow of photos commemorating a number of victims who died of drug overdoses, some dating back to 2007.

Ann Youngblood — who lost her son, Lance, to a drug overdose — said it’s important to give the crisis human personalities and faces, rather than simply numbers.

“For our warriors who fought and lost the battle, we will never forget you,”

Youngblood said.

Juxtaposed against the somber reminder of death were the signs of hope that efforts in Anne Arundel County may be making an impact, despite the fact police statistics show 2018 could be Anne Arundel’s deadliest year on record if overdose deaths stay at the current rate.

County Executive Steve Schuh pointed to the success of Safe Stations, a program that turns fire stations and police departments into resource facilities to help people into treatment. Schuh said more than 1,000 people had taken advantage of Safe Stations since April 2017.

He also highlighted medically assisted treatment available for those in jail who are battling addiction as well as the county’s push to divert people struggling with addiction more toward treatment than incarceration.

But he also said the crisis poses “an unprecedented challenge” for the state and, with the county being hit harder than other more populated counties such as Montgomery and Prince George’s.

“Anne Arundel is a case study for that challenge,” Schuh said. pdavis@capgaznews.com