BELCHERTOWN – The fourth annual SOAAR (Speaking Out About Addiction and Recovery) 5K and Music Festival provides an opportunity to fundraise, give helpful information and spread a message — you’re not alone.

The annual fundraiser will take place on Sept. 17, from noon to 5 p.m. at the Belchertown Common. Jill Rossi, one of the co-founders, said this will mark its full return after running a more scaled-down version last year and canceling in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re really excited to be hosting for yet another year,” said Rossi. “We get some really amazing feedback — it means everything.”

This year, Rossi hopes to have over 80 participants in the 5K and Family Fun Walk. Along with music throughout the day, there will be vendors and information booths for organizations such as the Quaboag Hills Substance Abuse Alliance, Narcotics Anonymous, and the town’s schools and Board of Health.

“The community is so supportive, it’s so heartwarming to understand that,” said Rossi.

There will also be three guest speakers — a person in recovery who lost a family member and two mothers of people in recovery. Rossi said that a teacher from Belchertown High School asked that the event invite a loved one of a person in recovery to tell their story, because they felt it would be impactful for the children.

“The whole point is to end stigma and bring hope and encourage people that there is recovery and there is support,” she said. “A lot of it is designed to help people understand that they are not alone.”

The SOAAR 5K & Music Festival is the biggest annual fundraiser for Honest Beginnings — which provides substance abuse recovery in Western Mass — and SOAAR. The festival provides local recovery and family support for people experiencing effects of addiction. Rossi said when SOAAR was started, she and another parent spoke with a Belchertown Police Department officer to see how they could support the families and loved ones of those struggling with addiction.

Rossi said after joining forces with Honest Beginnings and launching the 5K, they were able to bring a sober house to Belchertown two years later. The continued goal of the fundraiser is to pay the bills for the sober house and provide funding for a recovery center.