The final weekend of the State Fair is upon us and the specific days left will honor Native Americans, Latinos and raise awareness about substance abuse. Friday is “Stomp Out Stigma Day” aimed to get family members and individuals support services to deal with addition to opioids and heroin.
Organizations are set-up in the Chevy Court Pavilion from across Central New York. Helio Health’s Ron Wood is the Program Director at the Center of Treatment Innovation for outpatient services. He estimates they’ve talked with people from between ten to 15 counties.
“Addiction has been proven to be a disease and what we’re trying to do is to get it out there to let people to know that there is help available. That your loved ones, your family, the community itself cares about you... and we want to help you get to the right resources and live a healthy productive life.”
It’s the second year the Fair has hosted the event . Organizer Lauren Davie of the Central Addiction Resource Center says the Fair provides a more of a casual way of meeting people.
“So, it allows for a lot of discussion and open conversation with people that they may not have regularly been able to have or sought out.”
Today is also Native American Day and fairgoers took in dancing performances. The Indian Village is filled with rich Native American history. Suzanne welcomes visitors into a long-house made with hickory bark.
