Shine A Light On Heroin, formed late last year by a group of volunteers to bring awareness to the scourge of heroin and opiate addiction in the Westerly and Stonington communities, will mark its expansion into southeastern Connecticut with two upcoming events in New London.

On Saturday, at least 10 area fire and ambulance companies will bring their apparatus to Ocean Beach Park for a family-oriented "Night of Heroes" honoring the first responders to heroin overdoses. The event kicks off at 8 p.m.

SALOH also will host a public education forum from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, at New London High School.

Saturday's event provides an opportunity for the public to honor the people who deal with addicts in crisis and to acknowledge the problem exists in every community. The June 3 forum is designed to educate the public on heroin and opiate addiction and provide concrete information on getting help to addicts and their family members.

On Saturday, first responders will form into parade ranks in the Ocean Beach parking lot at 7:45 p.m. and march to the boardwalk, where fire companies from New London, Westerly and Pawcatuck will raise and join the aerial ladders of their fire trucks. The event will feature performances by area musicians Marco Frucht and Mark Derula, an American Indian healing ceremony and a martial arts demonstration.

The first responders will be available for photos with children and adults, and the kids will get a chance to try on helmets and turnout gear. The Miracle Temple Church's A'riginal choir will perform in a concluding ceremony and helium balloons will be released to "illuminate" the problem.

"Everything we do will be short and sweet," said Jim Spellman, a retired high school teacher and football coach who founded SALOH with a group of people who had been talking about the alarming rise in heroin use and fatal overdoses during informal meetings.  

The number of heroin-related overdose deaths in Connecticut increased by more than 86 percent between 2012 and 2014 — from 174 to 325, according to the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

During the June 3 forum at New London High School, 10 panelists will give six-minute presentations before moving to booths where members of the public can approach them with specific questions.

The panelists will provide general information on the heroin epidemic; overdose prevention and the distribution of the antidote, Narcan; detoxification from opiates; residential and outpatient treatment of addicts; medication-assisted treatment; 12-step recovery programs, faith-based approaches to addiction and the family's role in treatment. Law enforcement officials and a recovering addict will provide their perspectives.

Treatment providers also will be on hand to answer questions about their services and provide contact information and fliers.

On Wednesday, Spellman and volunteers from throughout the region met at Sound Community Services to finalize the details of the two events. The group includes concerned parents and community members along with professionals who work with young people and addicts. Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, Pfizer Inc., Sound Community Services, Stonington Institute and the Southeastern Council on Drug Addiction and Dependence (SCADD) were among the organizations represented.

Jack Malone, executive director of SCADD, said 80 to 85 percent of the agency's 20-bed detoxification facility are for opiate addicts, and by the time they reach SCADD, they are at "rock bottom."  

He spoke of former honor students and football stars whose parents have a hard time believing their children are involved. 

"They say, 'Look at all we've done for this child. How did heroin get in our home?'" Malone said.

In some cases, family members unknowingly provide their children a fix by failing to safeguard the pain pills in their own medicine cabinets, he said. Pain pill users often move on to heroin, a cheaper and readily available alternative, when their pill supply dries up.

Spellman insists the creation of SALOH was a collaborative effort, but other members said he has "taken some heat" for his leading role in shedding light on the unsavory issue. Spellman said the towns of Westerly and Stonington have declared heroin "emergencies" and that he is hoping other towns will address the issue as openly.

"It's always hardest to be the first to say something," said Kenneth W. Edwards Jr., an inspector for the Chief State's Attorney's Office and retired New London police captain.

k.florin@theday.com

Twitter: @KFLORIN