CACTC was recently awarded a grant through CNY Arts to continue its work with photographer Zack Bolton to capture portraits and stories tied to the overdose death crisis in Central NY. This is the continuation of a project that has now been underway for 2 years. Last April (2022), there was an exhibit of the first round of portraits and stories, at the Cortland Free Library. The exhibit included portraits from 11 participating families and individuals from Cortland County and across the region. View them here. 

Interested community members are invited to take part in this next phase of this project. We are looking to incorporated the portraits and stories of other individuals impacted in a variety of ways (directly impacted themselves by opioid use/ overdose, their family/friends, through their work/ role in the community, etc.). If you have a story you are willing to share, reach out to us. 

In the coming months, we will be meeting with interested individuals/groups and scheduling photo sessions in the summer 2023. We hope to hold an exhibit in fall 2023.

• Have you been impacted by this issue or have a story you want to share? We invite you to “Share Your Story” with us here. If you know you would like to be considered to participate in the portraits project, reach out to Sara at swatrous@cortlandareactc.org or fill out our interest form.
• Want to volunteer your time and/or expertise? We would like to form a small planning committee to help plan the exhibit(s) for the fall. We are looking for folks who can help with event planning, community outreach, promotions and other details. Let us know if you are interested and how you might like to help.

To learn more, visit: healingcortland.org/exhibit