Everyone who attended the event was given training on how to administer Narcan, a drug that reverses an overdose.

The Town of North Hempstead, anti-drug abuse advocates and elected officials hosted a fentanyl community forum on Tuesday.

The event comes after an alarming rise in fentanyl overdose deaths on Long Island and nationwide.

"Fentanyl has infiltrated the national drug supply and unfortunately, last year in America was the most tragic for fatality around opioid use, primarily because of fentanyl," said Steve Chassman, executive director of the Long Island Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence.

Drew Scott, a former longtime anchor for News 12, lost his granddaughter to an overdose of heroin laced with fentanyl in 2017. He says not a day goes by that he and his family don't mourn her loss.

"It was a small mistake that took her life and one small mistake with fentanyl can claim a life," Scott says. "That how serious it is, just once."

Everyone who attended the event was given training on how to administer Narcan, a drug that reverses an overdose.

Chassman hosted the training session. He says last year on Long Island, Narcan saved 1,500 lives and he hopes more can be saved by training people and giving out free kits.

For more information on how to get a free overdose rescue kit, click here.