KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Family members of people who lost loved ones due to drug overdoses may find support from the Knoxville Police Department's Drug Overdose Support Group.
The group will resume meetings Friday, Aug. 14 with new safeguards due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Attendees will need to wear a face-covering and practice social distancing while with the group.
Officials said that the group is meant to help parents, children, siblings and other family members heal from losing loved ones. It shows them that they are not alone and that there are others who are experiencing the same kind of grief they are, and that there are people who understand how much it hurts.
Two of the coordinators at the group are mothers who lost their sons to drug overdoses.
Friday's meeting will be held between 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Friday in the City Couty Room at the Knoxville Police Department Public Safety Building.
Health leaders in Knox County and across the U.S. saw a spike in opioid-related deaths after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. They said that as people get more isolated, they could get more depressed. It could lead to more opioid and drug use.