Those recovering from addiction, families of overdose victims and officials spoke out Monday about the potential for a rise in overdose deaths during the holiday season.

They are urging people struggling with addiction to get help if they need it.

Kurt Hall, of East Setauket, struggled with addiction for years before turning a corner in 2016. He says his life has improved immensely since then and emphasized that substance use disorder can happen to anyone - but survival is possible.

"There is a light, and it may be really hard to see, and you may not even know it is there," Hall said.

The Centers for Disease of Control and Prevention says drug overdose deaths have topped 100,000 people a year in the United States.

Officials say those statistics are not getting any better.

"The drug supply - heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, ecstasy, pressed pills tainted with fentanyl and the death rate across Long Island and the country continues to rise," said Steve Chassman of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.

Family members of people who have died of overdoses want those struggling with addiction to know they are not alone.

"I just feel like if I can help educate someone or change someone's mind who was thinking of using pills, I'll feel good about that," said Carole Trottere, the mother of an overdose victim. "I feel like my son is guiding me."