There were 381 pairs of shoes in Coeur d'Alene City Park Thursday, representing the number of overdose deaths in Idaho in 2022.

The shoes were part of an International Overdose Awareness Day memorial event organized by the North Idaho Alliance of Care.

“I am the shoe wrangler,” said Bree Larosa.

Larosa works with NIAC and is in recovery, so the memorial hit very close to home for her. She spent months gathering shoe donations from St. Vincent de Paul North Idaho for the memorial, in which shoes were laid out with posters and purple balloons.

“We really wanted it to be visible and a talking point,” Larosa said. “What’s with all the shoes? Well, these are all the people we don’t get to interact with.”

The group distributed the emergency overdose treatment Narcan during the event.

Volunteers wanted to provide Narcan while it’s still legal for private companies to do that, Roxann Esparza said. The Idaho Legislature passed a law banning private companies from giving away Narcan now that it can be sold over the counter, she added.

Narcan can counteract the effects of an opioid overdose and has saved lives. The drug can cost up to $50 over the counter, which people with substance abuse challenges do not always have.

208 Recovery North volunteered to give away drug lockboxes for medications, or overdose recovery kits to help prevent an overdose.

Several people grabbed lockboxes and kits throughout the day along with informational pamphlets.

“Getting it out to the community,” said Tess Reasor, a volunteer from 208 Recovery North. “I think it’s really important to bring awareness to the fact that there were really large distribution rates of Narcan last year, yet the overdose numbers rose from 342 that year.”

Because overdose deaths are up, nonprofits like 208 Recovery North or organizations like NIAC bring harm-reduction strategies to the streets, where people need them, as those struggling with substance abuse disorder are often regular people living in the community.

Each pair of shoes was unique to represent a whole person, like a mother who became addicted to opioids with a pain prescription, or just people's beloved children.