Schuylkill County residents have the opportunity to remember those who died of drug overdoses on Black Balloon Day this Saturday.

The national event is held March 6 to bring awareness. Family members of Greg Tremblay, 38, who died of an overdose March 6, 2015, started the observance, according to the website overdoselifeline.org

“This day, like many things including ours, began with a families loss. We want to humanize the issue of drug-related overdoses that individuals in substance use disorder are somebody’s someone. A person cannot get help if they are not alive to receive it,” Tammy Sienkiewicz, of Tamaqua, mother of Alexandria “Alex” Sienkiewicz, 23, who died of a fentanyl overdose April 2, 2016, said Tuesday.

She said people can display a black balloon on their porch, yard or mailbox to raise awareness. Local business and organizations are supporting the cause by displaying balloons, she said.

Safer Streets for Tamaqua’s Little Feet is hosting an online free Facebook event Saturday from 12:05 a.m. to midnight March 7. Sienkiewicz and her husband, John, founded the organization after Alex’s death.

Nationally, more than 81,000 drug overdose deaths were recorded in the 12 months ending in May 2020, which is the highest yet for a one-year timeframe, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows.

In Schuylkill County, 119 people died in 2020 of drug-related deaths, according to county coroner data.

Sienkiewicz believes the pandemic has caused an increase in drug use because people are or were limiting interactions with others.

“What they tell you in recovery is don’t isolate,” she said.

Sienkiewicz said staying silent about drug use does not help those affected or their loved ones.

“The main thing with overdose deaths is you have to keep talking about it,” she said.