Dealing with the opioid crisis — preventing disease outbreaks, helping people into recovery and protecting public health and safety — is one of the key challenges facing our state. In Charleston, this issue, particularly the debate surrounding the needle exchange, has been highly politicized. We hope you can join us for one of two upcoming forums to get beyond the headlines and learn more about successful approaches to tackling the opioid epidemic from local and international public health experts. The forums will be held Thursday evening, July 26 in Charleston and Saturday morning, July 28 in Huntington (see details below). 

The keynote speaker for these events is Susan Shepherd the manager of the Toronto Drug Strategy Secretariat at Toronto Public Health. Topics of the panel discussions include adverse childhood experiences associated with substance use disorder, prevention methods for adolescents, supervised safe injection sites, and systems approaches to addressing substance use disorder, particularly the Quick Response Teams. 

We hope to see you there.

Yours for Action,

Team WV CAG

Opioid Forums July 26 in Charleston, July 28 in Huntington

What: Opioid Town Hall Meeting: A Conversation to Drive Change

Moving Beyond Fear: Saving Lives and Protecting Neighbors During an Opioid Epidemic

When: Thursday, July 26, 2018
* 6 pm – Free Community Dinner
* 7-8: 30 pm – Panel Discussion

Where: St. John’s Episcopal Church, 1105 Quarrier Street, Charleston, WV 

**This is a FREE event and open to the public. All kinds welcome and encouraged to come!

Sponsored by: Cabin Creek Health Systems, WV Center on Budget and Policy, WV Council of Churches, Our Children Our Future, C.A.R.E. Coalition, WV Citizen Action Group, ACLU of West Virginia and Rise Up WV

The Center on Budget and Policy is hosting a secon forum, “Responses to the Opioid Epidemic: Lessons Learned and Best Practices,”  in Huntington on Saturday, July 28 from 9:30 am to noon at Marshall University’s Memorial Student Center, Room BE5.