Brown County organizations are mobilizing to do something about substance abuse.
On Friday and Saturday, May 18 and 19, the Brown County Drug Free Coalition Action Planning Conference will take place at Brown County High School.
Both days, participants will work on developing a strategic action plan that “reduces the number of substance abuse deaths, prevents substance abuse and addiction, expands access and decreases wait for treatment, and improves the safety of our community,” the mission reads.
Sessions will run from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. Saturday.
Anyone wishing to participate is asked to RSVP to Chuck Yager by Friday, May 11 at [email protected].
Participants are being asked to complete about 30 minutes of “pre-work” which Yager will send to them; it’s a series of “thinking exercises” about goals for this process and how to achieve them. Yager plans to tabulate the results beforehand and share them at the conference.
The conference is being organized by the Brown County Drug Free Coalition, a group representing the schools community, law enforcement, crisis and mental health services, the recovery community and other people interested in drug abuse treatment and prevention, which meets monthly.
People at the conference will include “multiple Brown County entities that want to ‘Do Something’ by providing resources, metrics and solutions, such as behavior health providers, hospitals, human resource agencies, the recovery community, criminal justice partners, first responders, workforce development, veteran affairs, religious organizations, nonprofits, businesses that hire, and others,” the event announcement reads.
Speakers listed on the conference flier so far include Laura Hammack, superintendent of Brown County schools; Cory Joy, associate pastor of New Life Community Church and the father of an overdose victim; and Doug Payne, a member of the recovery community, with more speakers to be determined.
“Do Something” became a slogan and rallying cry last summer after a rash of deaths in Brown County from opioid drugs. A Facebook page by the same name has grown to 1,400 members, who share successes, sorrows, information and support daily.
In April, Centerstone led a public information session at the library, “You Are Not Alone: How opioid use is affecting your friends and family,” and on May 1, the Indiana Recovery Alliance offered a training on how to use the anti-overdose drug naloxone.
Since January 2017, four people in Brown County have died from overdoses, not including others who may have died at a hospital outside of the county.
“We must fight this war together to make a difference,” the conference worksheet reads.
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
WHAT: Brown County Drug Free Coalition Action Planning Conference
WHEN: 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, May 18 and 8 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. Saturday, May 19
WHERE: Brown County High School
RSVP: By May 11 to [email protected]
[sc:pullout-text-end]OTHER STORIES IN THIS SERIES:
Addicted and Dying: An introduction
‘Addiction works when it gets to hide’
‘#DoSomething movement uniting the community
OPINION: In the midst of addiction, there is no ‘us’ and ‘them’
Local churches reaching out as ‘spiritual hospitals’
Local task force aims to educate, prevent drug use
‘I judged so much. Then it happened to me.’
GUEST OPINION: The impact of opioid use on families
‘I want your mom, too’: Grandmother raising three grandchildren as daughter battles addiction
