INDEPENDENCE, Ky. -- More than 1,200 runners and walkers participated in the fourth annual Northern Kentucky Hates Heroin 5K outside Simon Kenton High School on Saturday morning.
Organizers expected to raise about $40,000, with the money going toward the organization supporting people affected by heroin.
And they're off! @WCPO pic.twitter.com/qWDTEX9UJd
— T.J. Parker (@TJParkerWCPO) June 17, 2017
The event is personal for organizers Eric and Holly Specht: They lost their son, Nicholas, to an overdose a few years ago.
"Everyone thinks it's a choice, and to a degree, that's true," Eric Specht said. "But to a large degree, once you're in that swimming pool, you can't get out of it. And what we're trying to do is help those people who want out of that pool provide resources and ways for them to get help."
RESOURCES: Where to turn for help
Attorney General Andy Beshear also was at the event. Last year, his office provided $8 million to drug treatment facilities across Kentucky.
