Photo courtesy of New Albany-Plain Local School District
Students at New Albany-Plain Local School District graduate from the D.A.R.E. program
Opioid addiction has become an epidemic in Ohio. In a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Ohio led the nation in total opioid overdose deaths at 2,106 people. Ohio also led the nation in heroin overdose deaths at 1,208 people.
It’s not hard to find friends and neighbors who have been touched by the epidemic, and New Albany-Plain Local Schools has made it a goal to do its part in ending the tragedies.
This spring, the school district is inviting all community members to participate in a conversation on understanding mental health issues and learning how to prevent drug dependency at the Community Well-Being Forum on March 20.
To be held at the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts, the conversation will begin at 7 p.m. and focus on addiction and its impact on individuals, families and the community. The evening will consist of presentations by experts on topics related to substance abuse and mental health, and local data from the police and fire department will be provided to help describe what is happening in the community. A panel of community members will help facilitate the conversation.
NAPLS Superintendent Michael Sawyers stresses that the forum is not just for students, but all members of the community. Drug abuse can be an uncomfortable subject, but Sawyers and the rest of the school district are ready to break the stigma through discussion and education.
Photo courtesy of New Albany-Plain Local School District
“(It) is impossible for the school district to do this without our entire community being engaged,” says Sawyers. “We are trying to build capacity for awareness, and understand that it is okay to have these conversations as a community, because if we provide support to each other and we respond as a community, it will make us all better.”
The school district has teamed up with local businesses and organizations, including Healthy New Albany Inc., Nationwide Children’s Hospital, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Concord Counseling Services.
“It is important for us to have a healthy community,” says Sawyers. “I think it makes New Albany, to some degree, unique because there is a deliberate focus to try to create a healthy community, and not hide from the ills that exist in society, but hit them head-on.”
Sawyers acknowledges that one conversation won’t be enough. NAPLS administration has a vision of hosting substance abuse-related community conversations between two and four times a year.
“We want this to become a series of really great conversations where we are talking about hard topics in our community at large,” says Sawyers. “We don’t want people to get the impression that you have a conversation and it goes away. It doesn’t.”
Sawyers says he believes the community is interested in coming together to combat these problems, and hopes to empower New Albany residents to build resources which benefit the community, especially children, who are the most vulnerable.
“We are really excited … and I think it will be wonderful,” says Sawyers. “This is just another extension of what we are always trying to do to build a healthy community.”
Lydia Freudenberg is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at adeperro@cityscenemediagroup.com.
