Rally against heroin set Oct. 24
Concerned with the increasing number of heroin overdoses reported in Washington in August, Mike Markley decided to organize a march and rally to draw attention to the problem.
Markley and the his supporters are picking up where they left off with a second march and rally Oct. 24.
The group will meet at noon at the Eighth Ward playground, Broad Street and Baird Avenue, for a rally before marching through the city’s West End to the high school on Jefferson and Hall avenues.
The inaugural march in August was to have ended at the Eighth Ward playground but was cut short after the group learned city police were responding to two reported overdoses in the West End.
“We will be marching through the Eighth Ward because that seems to be the main part of this siege,” Markley said about the heroin problem.
“We want to spread the word.”
“I would like to see parents bring their children,” he added. “The kids that are in elementary and middle school need to be aware of the risk they are taking if they put heroin into their bodies. That might make them less likely to start using and stop the cycle.”
Markley is pleased with the growing support in the grassroots effort to call attention to the local heroin problem. He said about 50 people came to a meeting at Washington Park to make arrangements for the second rally.
“A lot of people have volunteered their time and talents to help us,” Markley said.
“We had someone design our logo for us, and the disc jockey is donating his time.”
“This rally and march are going to be bigger than the first,” he said. “We will start with a rally at the playground where a former addict will talk about his addiction.”
A church choir has agreed to sing, and the disc jockey will play music at the playground and later at the high school parking lot. Businesses, churches and organizations such as Narcotics Anonymous and Greenbriar Treatment Center have been asked to participate.
Markley hopes to hold a rally every two months, although it will move indoors as winter approaches. The next one will be in December at a location to be determined.
“We can’t stop,” Markley said. “We have to stand up and come together in this fight.”
Markley said the group does not receive any funding, but does need help financing incidental expenses. Anyone wishing to contribute to the Fight Against Heroin march and rally can send donations to Box 7473, 344 S. Bouquet St., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213.