About 50 people walked from Griffin Park to Pioneer Park on Sunday to remember those lost to drug overdose as part of International Overdose Awareness Day. Many of the march’s attendees wore black T-shirts with #EndOverDose printed on the back.

“My son overdosed, and a lot of times you don’t tell nobody what happened. Nobody knows. So it’s letting people know that it’s not a stigma,” said Debra Babcock-Pate, the lead family coordinator at Fairbanks Native Association (FNA).

Babcock-Pate started the walk in Fairbanks five years ago.

When her son, Balau, passed away in 2015 she felt isolated and unable to speak about the reasons for his death.

After connecting with a man in Mat-Su whose daughter also died from overdose who held a walk in his community, Babcock-Pate brought the idea to Fa

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