NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — The inaugural Stronger Together Recovery Walk is coming to Sims Park in New Port Richey. Organized by the Pasco Alliance for Substance Addiction Prevention (ASAP) Recovery Committee, it's meant to raise awareness that people can and do overcome addiction, as well as help to end the stigma surrounding it.

"It is super exciting," said Cesar Rodriguez, co-chair of ASAP's Recovery Committee. "After the lockdowns in 2020, people really lost hope. They lost connection, and we saw overdose rates skyrocket in our own community. There was some stigma going on, and this was really our response to everything to offer people hope, to offer connection, to get people involved."

According to the Florida Department of Health in Pasco County, numbers from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office show there were 1,491 overdoses in the county during 2020. Those resulted in 268 deaths -- a 71% increase from the year before.

Related Story: Sheriff's Office: COVID-19 Contributed to Pasco Overdose Increase

Rodriguez is emceeing the event and will share his own story of struggle and recovery.

"I was addicted to opiates for over 17 years, completely hopeless, and I found recovery after being brought back with Narcan five separate times, considered dead," Rodriguez said. "It took somebody to reach out to me that told me a story that sounded similar to mine, except they had found their way out. That's what connected with me."

According to Rodriguez, who's also on the board of directors for the Alliance for Healthy Communities, ASAP partnered with The Hope Shot to make the walk a reality. The Facebook page hosts regular live discussions featuring recovery success stories. One of the co-founders, Justin McPadden, said it's stories like those that helped him overcome his own addiction to opioids.

"I was strung out and homeless. You name it — I was that typical addict mentality," McPadden said. "It took multiples times to try to get clean, and finally, I did in 2018, and my life has changed. I couldn't imagine my life being any different. My life is amazing today, even on the bad days."

"That's what we try to do," said Rodriguez. "We share our struggles with people, where we came from, and let them see it's possible to get out of it. Because when you're surrounded by the darkness, and everything is bad, you think there's no way out. We want to be that light in the darkness that draws people out."

The Stronger Together Recovery Walk is taking place on Saturday, August 21 at Sims Park from 9:00-12:00. The free event is open to all and will also include information about recovery resources available in Tampa Bay.

To learn more about those resources, visit empoweredcommunities.org.