Volunteers and advocates gather in remembrance of those lost to drug overdoses at a community health event hosted by CYC on Tuesday, Aug. 27 at Wilmington town beach. The shirt worn by Ben Frantz, center, was made at the request of a Lake Placid graduating senior so that everyone who sees the shirt would have the suicide prevention hotline number. (News photo — Grace McIntyre)

WILMINGTON — Fifteen people and a parrot gathered at Wilmington town beach Tuesday evening, Aug. 27 to recognize local health advocates and to remember those lost to the opioid epidemic.

This was the 4th annual health awareness event hosted by Lake Placid/Wilmington Connecting Youth and Communities (CYC), a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the health of local youth. Normally this event takes place on overdose awareness day, but since this day falls on Labor Day weekend, it was rescheduled for earlier in the week.

Among the 15 people were representatives from local organizations, including Mountain Lake Services, which provides a variety of services to individuals with developmental disabilities, and Citizen Advocates, which provides behavioral and mental health services.

This year, CYC President Tina Clark said they also wanted to remember Dmitry Feld, a beloved Lake Placid community member who died in January due to complications from leukemia. Feld served for many years as the president of the Shipman Youth Center board, co-organized the annual I Love BBQ and Music Festival and led local relief efforts for Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion.

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Caricature artist Joe Ferris draws an attendee’s cat at a community health event at Wilmington town beach on Aug. 27. (News photo — Grace McIntyre)

Doing their part

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Below the shadow of the picnic area, representatives and volunteers from various Essex County organizations shared tips and spoke about their work.

Tina Preston, the CYC Wilmington representative, reflected on a lifetime of volunteer work. Growing up in the Adirondacks, her mother started a group that lent help to neighbors in need with fundraising raffles and bake sales. She went on to work with Wilmington Youth Center as a teenager and, more recently, has found ways to help people around her. During the pandemic, she hosted an Easter egg hunt for local kids and delivered meals to people who couldn’t leave their houses.

Preston also opened up about her struggles with anxiety and stressed the importance of addressing increased mental health issues among young people.

Mary Minogue brought her blue and gold macaw to CYC’s health awareness event at Wilmington beach on Aug. 27. (News photo — Grace McIntyre)

“People need to know that you’re never alone, there’s always somebody out there,” Preston said.

Preston’s husband, son and sister came out to support her. Preston expressed gratitude for her husband’s support in all her endeavors.

Geoffrey Neu, a CYC board member, also spoke at the event, followed by Ben Frantz, a prevention specialist with the Prevention Team. Frantz works with schools in Essex County to lead various mental health and addiction-prevention trainings and interventions.

Frantz shared insight from his work with kids, saying that social media is a major concern for him. Kids are no longer getting most of their information from their parents, but from TikTok, he said. Among the storm of content they are exposed to include information about how to get a high from combining readily-available, household ingredients.

“Having said that, I’m not an advocate of keeping kids off of it entirely, because it’s part of our world,” Frantz said. “So the whole idea is we got to teach kids how to navigate this stuff, as opposed to handing them a device and saying, ‘here you go.'”

Following the speakers, CYC board members Cora Clark and Sue Sweeny led a refresher CPR course and reminded participants how to administer Narcan. Cora noted that “Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees is no longer the recommended CPR tempo, but that the ideal speed is closer to “Baby Shark.” And for Narcan, it is important to remember that if someone is unresponsive and an overdose is suspected, it doesn’t hurt them to administer Narcan just in case.

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A moment of remembrance

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As the information session drew to a close and the colors of the sunset faded from Lake Everest, the participants gathered in a circle and passed a flame between white, handheld candles.

“We join together in prayer to support those who have suffered from addiction — survivors, families, friends — and to remember those we have lost. We come from many beliefs, faiths and religions,” Clark said. “We each come with a story and each story is sacred. When we come together, this becomes a sacred place.”

Although the turnout was small, the event provided a space for similarly passionate community members to share knowledge and to encourage each other in the work that each of them does, quietly, day in and day out.

“There’s been bigger numbers, there’s been smaller numbers,” Frantz said, reflecting on past events and the fact that a small group was gathered this time. “It’s just the right thing to do.”

The participants drifted from the prayer circle to grab slices of pizza and cookies from a picnic table. Preston’s sister, Mary Minogue, brought her blue and gold macaw, Tucker, and was feeding him bits of pizza.

Tucker caught the attention of Joe Ferris, a caricature artist who volunteered to create art during the event — at a discounted rate.

“I came to the event with the intention of drawing, but I found the passion of the health care workers to be… contagious,” Ferris said, searching for the right word. “And I found myself lighting a candle and standing next to them and feeling connected to their goal of bettering the community.”

Ferris continued sketching throughout the event, eventually taking commissions to draw attendees’ pets. He made a point of announcing to the group that he would like to volunteer his services at future public health events.