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By BRIAN BOHNERT FOR THE COURIER

FOSTORIA Several community leaders will come together Saturday with the hope of starting a new conversation about the impact of heroin abuse in America.

Start the Conversation: A day of heroin awareness education will take place from noon to midnight Saturday at Cowboys & Angels/Venue 18, 11295 W. Ohio 18.

Area experts, mental health professionals and recovering heroin addicts will be on hand for the all-day event in a collaborative effort to open peoples eyes to the devastating effects of opioid abuse.

I come from a background of education and awareness, and it seems to me this is the only way were going to make any kind of headway against this epidemic, said Ed Schetter, one of the organizers of the event. Once somebody picks it up and tries it for the first time, the odds are so stacked against them.

A total of 3,050 Ohioans died as a result of drug overdoses in 2015, an increase of 20.5 percent from 2014, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Heroin played a role in 46.7 percent of all overdose deaths that year, accounting for 1,424 fatalities on its own.

At 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Richie Webber, a 25-year-old recovering addict and mixed martial arts fighter, will discuss Fight For Recovery the nonprofit he founded to combat the heroin epidemic in northwestern Ohio.

At 2 p.m., Mircea Handru, executive director of the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Seneca, Sandusky and Wyandot Counties, will lead a discussion about the various resources available to addicts and their families.

At 3 p.m., Stacey Gibson with the Seneca County Board of Health will talk about how families can prevent drug abuse through open discussion.

Tim Wise, site director for Firelands Counseling and Recovery in Fremont, will speak at 4 p.m. regarding medication-assisted treatment, detox services and other treatment options. Koriann Evans, who has been in long-term recovery, will speak about breaking the silence, raising awareness and putting an end to stigma.

Her program begins at 5 p.m.

Tim Sarreshteh, whose daughter Rachael succumbed to her addiction on Aug. 14, 2016, will lead a motorcycle rally at 1 p.m. Saturday. Rachaels Ride will travel from Fostoria to the Viaduct Bar & Grill in Tiffin and to Brew U in Findlay before returning to Fostoria.

Registration will begin at 11 a.m. at Cowboys & Angels/Venue 18.

The event will conclude at Cowboys & Angels/Venue 18 with live music from Silence the Echoes, Bones of Giants, Autumn Burning and South-Carolina based Alice in Chains tribute band Grind.

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Heroin awareness event in Fostoria set for Saturday - The Courier