MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Have you seen any purple chairs sitting empty in or around Milwaukee? If you have, be aware that they may not be just for decoration. 

CBS 58 stopped at a purple chair painting event today, Aug. 28, where painters are hoping to send a powerful message. 

Sumia Masoud lost her son to a fentanyl overdose three years ago and now she's behind the Purple Chair Project. 

"Purple is the color of overdose and the chair represents the person that maybe you are missing," said Masoud. 

She wants everyone to know just how pervasive and deadly fentanyl is. She and her fellow painters are using these chairs to drive that point home. 

"The idea behind the sea of purple chairs is to get them out into gardens and porches all over, so that a conversation gets started on why the purple chair, what does the purple chair mean," said Masoud. "And raise community awareness and hopefully governmental awareness on just how much of an epidemic this has become." 

Today's purple chair event was not just for painting - there was also a presentation about how to use fentanyl strips and Narcan to save people who overdose. 

If you'd like to display a chair or maybe even donate one you can find more information here.