A grass-roots effort to focus attention on the alarming increase in heroin-related deaths culminated in a rally Saturday night at the Pawcatuck River bridge linking Stonington and Westerly, towns that have taken it upon themselves to fight the epidemic.

Hundreds of people braved the cold to toss white carnations from the bridge, each of the flowers representing a life lost to heroin.

"We stand together against the terrible scourge of heroin, which snuck into our community," said the Rev. Cal Lord of the Central Baptist Church of Westerly, who read a passage from Psalm 27: "The Lord is my light and my salvation …"

The silent epidemic, he said, is no longer shrouded in darkness.

Indeed, the group behind the event, Shine A Light On Heroin, has seen to that in a relatively short span of time. Founded by Jim Spellman, a former Westerly school administrator and football coach whose father was a Stonington first selectman, its beginnings can be traced to an informal meeting at which eight people realized all of their lives had been touched by heroin's ravages.

Five weeks later, Spellman said, 130 people are now actively involved in the group's campaign. By Saturday, SALOH's Facebook page, founded in late December, had garnered nearly 1,400 "likes."

"We all want to project that we live in a perfect community, but we don't," Spellman said. "We need to get the problem out in the open."

That problem has been growing in the region, statewide and nationally for the last couple of years. In Connecticut, more than 150 deaths were attributed to opioid overdoses, many involving heroin, in the first six months of 2014. Last year, more than 200 occurred in Rhode Island. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control reported last week that heroin-related overdose deaths increased 39 percent in 2013.

Heroin, cheaper than prescription painkillers, has continued to grow in popularity.

"It was my best friend, my lover, my family," said Jack Spence of Charlestown, R.I., a recovering heroin addict who carried a placard Saturday night. "I couldn't function without it."

That was more than 14 years ago, back when the 51-year-old Spence owned the Hang Loose Lounge in Westerly. He's been clean since then, he said, his recovery attributable to his commitment to a 12-step program and "the work of a lot of people."

Alisha Choquette of Westerly, a SALOH organizer, said she survived a 10-year heroin addiction and has been clean for nearly a year. She often shares her story of addiction and recovery, she said.

Carolyn O'Brien, owner of C.C. O'Brien's in Pawcatuck, one of many local business owners involved in the cause, also rallied Saturday night. "Pray for Victims" read the sign she held.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com

Twitter: @bjhallenbeck