An idea that prayer could help Bartholomew County find solutions to its opiate abuse problem will become reality this weekend with a prayer walk in Columbus.
A Community Prayer Walk for Drug Abuse will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Donner Park, said Kyra Myers, wife of Sheriff Matt Myers.
She first mentioned the idea of praying for families, for those who are addicted and those who are recovering and the community as a whole, during the kickoff event for the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County.
ASAP was launched April 19 at a forum at The Commons called “Moving the Needle: Community Forum,” which attracted about 650 people who wanted to learn more about heroin addiction in Bartholomew County and how they could help.
People who attended were invited to ask questions, and Kyra Myers stepped forward to say she thought a community gathering to pray for people affected by the opioid epidemic would be a way for the community to come together to address the problem.
She and teacher Judy McDaniel have been working with others to organize and promote the prayer walk, with details shared among churches, youth groups and recovery groups throughout the county.
“This has been on my heart for some time,” Kyra Myers said. “There are so many people who are trying to do things. We feel that God has kept putting people in front of us, leading us to this — to pray together as a community and let God lead us.”
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
