Bevin wants painted rocks to be hidden in every county. Here’s why.

Gov. Matt Bevin wants to use painted rocks to help curb Kentucky’s opioid crisis.

The Republican governor issued a news release Thursday that said his office will begin placing painted rocks around the state immediately to raise awareness for Kentucky’s opioid epidemic and the “Don’t Let Them Die” initiative.

“Though this promotion is intended to be encouraging and fun, it seeks to raise awareness across the Commonwealth about a tragically serious epidemic,” said Amanda Stamper, Bevin’s director of communications. Last year, 1,404 Kentuckians died from an opioid overdose.

Painted rock searches, a form of hide-and-seek, are a new, wildly popular trend, Bevin’s news release said.

“The concept is simple: Volunteers paint and decorate rocks, then place them for others to find. When one finds a painted rock they can photograph themselves with it and then post the photo to their social media outlet of choice. Finders are encouraged to then hide the rock for others to find. The goal is not to find and keep the rocks, but to continue placing them for others to discover.”

The rock campaign will be promoted on Bevin’s social media pages. Rocks for the campaign contain a message of hope and will initially be hidden in the Frankfort, Lexington and Louisville areas. Bevin’s office hopes to have rocks placed in all 120 Kentucky counties within two weeks.

This story was originally published August 3, 2017 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Bevin wants painted rocks to be hidden in every county. Here’s why.."