NORWAY — The Western Maine Addiction Recovery Initiative will host its second annual Western Maine Recovery Rally on Saturday, Sept. 9, with a march from Norway to Moore Park in Paris.

The event will rally people to show community support for those in recovery from substance use disorders.

Substance use, especially the use of heroin and opiates, is a crisis in Maine. Overdose deaths were at an all-time high in 2015, but this record high was eclipsed by 2016, with 386 lives lost.

Hope for those battling substance use and for the people who love them lies in the community, which supports treatment and recovery. WMARI is working to gather supporters with the fall rally.

It will follow the success of the inaugural rally in September 2016, which drew more than 100 people from across Oxford County. It will include a march from Norway to Moore Park in South Paris, where there will be music, food and speakers.

Planning is under way, and WMARI invites people to be part of the planning. Meetings are held every other Thursday from 2 to 3 p.m. at Common Ground Counseling, 235 Main St., Norway. The next meeting is Thursday, June 22.

Sponsorships and donations are also being sought to support the event.

FMI: Brendan Schauffler, 207-739-6222, Western Maine Addiction Recovery Initiative’s Facebook page.