Community Invited to Join Chautauqua County Overdose Awareness Week Recognition & Events

Submitted by Justin Gould on Wed, 08/05/2026 - 10:00

DUNKIRK, N.Y. – Together We Can CHQ invites residents, businesses, organizations, schools, and community leaders throughout Chautauqua County to participate in Chautauqua County Overdose Awareness Week, taking place August 24–31, 2026.

This county-wide initiative promotes hope, healing, remembrance, recovery, education, and community connection while encouraging meaningful conversations about substance use and mental health. Throughout the week, the community is invited to participate in themed Spirit Week activities, attend local events, and stand together in observance of International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31.

Together We Can CHQ is a community-driven overdose awareness coalition dedicated to fostering hope, healing, connection, and compassion. Through its Be the Light Initiatives, the coalition works to fight stigma, support recovery, honor lives, and strengthen the community through education, advocacy, harm reduction, and meaningful connection.

While the coalition’s work is rooted in Chautauqua County, every Overdose Awareness Week initiative is officially registered through the International Overdose Awareness Day Campaign, connecting local efforts to the world’s largest annual campaign dedicated to preventing overdose, reducing stigma, honoring lives lost, and supporting individuals and families affected by substance use.

Chautauqua County Overdose Awareness Week Spirit Week

Several community buildings, listed below, will be participating by “Keeping the Light On,” illuminating their buildings purple to recognize this observance. Community members are encouraged to participate by wearing the daily themes, visiting buildings illuminated in purple, taking photos with coworkers, friends, family members, classrooms, or organizations, and sharing them on Facebook and Instagram while tagging Together We Can CHQ.

List of Participants in “Keeping the Light On”

Mayville Village Clerks Office

1 South Erie Street

Mayville, New York

Depot located at 16 water street Mayville

Jamestown City Hall

200 East Third St., Jamestown, NY 14701

Dunkirk City Hall

342 Central Ave, Dunkirk, NY 14048

Dunkirk Police Department

342 Central Ave #1, Dunkirk, NY 14048

Schedule of Events

Monday, August 24: Challenge the Stigma
Wear recovery or mental health apparel.

Tuesday, August 25: Peace Out to Accidental Overdose
Wear tie-dye.

Wednesday, August 26: Band Together
Wear your favorite band or concert T-shirt.

Thursday, August 27: Glow for Awareness
Wear neon or bright colors.

Friday, August 28: Be the Light
Wear purple or your Together We Can CHQ shirt and join us for our community event.

Saturday, August 29: Let’s Team Together
Wear your favorite sports team apparel or jersey.

Sunday, August 30: International Overdose Awareness Day
Wear purple, honor those we have lost, celebrate recovery, and join communities around the world in raising awareness and inspiring hope.

Third Annual Be the Light: Anyone Can Save a Life

The signature event of Overdose Awareness Week is the 3rd Annual Be the Light: Anyone Can Save a Life, taking place on Saturday, August 29, from 6:00–8:00 PM at the Lower Pavilion, Point Gratiot Park in Dunkirk.

Unlike a traditional awareness event, Be the Light combines education, prevention, remembrance, family activities, and community connection into one evening designed to reduce stigma, build hope, and bring lifesaving resources directly to the people who need them.

Event highlights include a community resource fair featuring local organizations, live music by Miranda Wilcox, community yoga led by Dyann Bourne of Reborne Wellness, inspiring stories of hope and recovery, children's activities, face painting, games, and prizes. Evergreen Health will provide free opioid overdose prevention education, naloxone (Narcan) training, harm reduction resources, and medication disposal education. Chautauqua County Sheriff James Quattrone will present information about New York State's 911 Good Samaritan Law. The evening will also include food, a basket raffle and 50/50 fundraiser, and freshly pressed Together We Can CHQ event T-shirts available for purchase.

As the evening concludes, attendees will gather for a community remembrance vigil led by Reverend Jim LaBarr of Harvest Chapel. The ceremony will include a moment of silence, prayer, and a purple glow wand tribute honoring the lives of those lost to accidental overdose while offering hope and healing to families, friends, and the community.

Together We Can CHQ’s work extends throughout the year. The coalition offers free community opioid overdose prevention and naloxone trainings, is launching the Be the Light Grief Support Group this September for individuals grieving the loss of a loved one to substance use, and established the Be the Light Scholarship, which supports the continuing education and professional development of first responders throughout Chautauqua County. This year marks the awarding of the coalition’s first scholarship.

Community Support Needed

We could not do this without help. Thank you to the Suicide Prevention Alliance of Chautauqua County, The Recovery Center of Niagara and Lakeside Medical Practice for their donations and sponsorship. If you or your organization would like to support as well, Together We Can CHQ is currently seeking:

Community partners
Event sponsors
Resource fair participants
Volunteers
Basket raffle donations
Monetary donations
Businesses interested in long-term partnerships
Community members interested in joining the coalition

The coalition meets monthly via Zoom on the second Thursday of each month and welcomes anyone who shares its mission of creating a compassionate community where stigma is challenged, recovery is supported, lives are honored, and hope creates pathways to healing and connection.