Reality of abuse will break your heart

Reality of abuse will break your heart

By Karen Kelly

We are losing friends, neighbors and family members to prescription drug abuse at an alarming rate – one person every 19 minutes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There isn’t a family in America immune from the impact of this epidemic. Those fortunate enough to escape the personal toll of prescription drug abuse first-hand are, instead, forced to bear the burden of increased costs for health care, treatment, government services, workplace safety and law enforcement.

It is estimated that at least 3 out of every 4 child abuse or neglect cases across the country involve substance abuse by parents or caregivers. Does this break your heart? It does mine. Especially since we have it within our abilities to do something to lower the numbers.

But how can this be accomplished?

Engaging families, educating youth and raising the consciousness of concerned communities – such as the campaigns undertaken by the NOPE Task Force – is a valuable and effective strategy. Individual efforts are making an impact, but there is greater strength through a comprehensive, coordinated and all-inclusive approach.

On April 10-12, the first National Rx Drug Abuse Summit will be held in Orlando to foster better understanding and cooperation between all stakeholders and learn how cooperation can lead to successful outcomes. Attendees will have an opportunity to learn from community advocates, medical professionals, treatment experts, educators, private industry, state and national leaders and law enforcement officials.

Keynote presentations will be made by Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse; R. Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy; U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina M. Benjamin; and Joseph T. Rannazzisi, deputy assistant administrator for the DEA’s Office of Diversion Control.

Summit sessions are divided into five educational tracks – health care, advocacy and prevention, human resources, treatment and law enforcement – tailored to provide timely and relevant information. Programs include more than 40 breakout sessions, five moderated panel discussions and “select sessions” providing in-depth examination of innovative programs and strategies.

Our youth are experimenting with prescription drugs at an earlier age and in higher percentages than illicit drugs. Overdose death rates are escalating in proportion to the growing level of narcotic abuse. It’s time to take a more proactive, unified approach.

Karen Kelly is president/CEO of Operation UNITE (Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment and Education) serving southern and eastern Kentucky.

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Parent Advocate

(Sharon Blair is a NOPE Task Force supporter living in Bloomington, Ind. This is a letter she published in the Bloomington Herald Times Newspaper.)

January 25, 2012 (Publish Date)

JENNIFER ACT STILL WORTH FIGHTING FOR
Guest Column Bloomington Herald Times Newspaper

I am a Bloomington resident who has worked very hard to improve Indiana laws to aid families who are in a crisis of substance addiction. I drafted The Jennifer Act [proposed bill] for Indiana and Florida after the accidental death of my precious daughter, Jennifer Reynolds, January 15, 2009. The Jennifer Act has been introduced for 3 years into the Indiana General Assembly by State Senator Vi Simpson.
In 2010, The Jennifer Act was introduced as Indiana Senate Bill 380, in 2011 it was introduced as Indiana Senate Bill 22 and in 2012, it has been introduced as Indiana [SCR 0007] Senate ConCurrent Resolution No. 007. As I found out, the legislative process is very long and often takes years, to see a bill or revision come to pass. In Florida, the Jennifer Act has been introduced for 2012 by Florida State Senator Jack Latvala as Senate Bill No. 1744 Titled " The Jennifer Act".

I know the Herald Times covers issues facing our local community and our state and wanted to bring your attention to a Bloomington resident who has not given up the mission and the advocacy of The Jennifer Act. Indiana Senators on the Committee on Health and Provider Services will review The Jennifer Act [SCR0007]. The Indiana State Senators who are on this Committee are: Senator Miller (Chair), Senator Mishler, Senator Becker, Senator Charbonneau, Senator Gard, Senator Grooms, Senator Leising, Senator Breaux, Senator Rogers and Senator Simpson.

The intent of SCR No.0007 is to improve commitment laws to better aid Indiana families who are in need of emergency help and intervention for those who are chronically and progressively substance addicted. Those addicted are severely impaired and often do not see a way out of the downward spiral of addiction . Addiction is a brain disease and left untreated, they face overdose death or incarceration. There is a stigma attached to families suffering with addiction. It's ripple effects are far reaching. Addiction is a family disease, because it effects the entire family. Addicted parents lose their children due to substance addiction and incarceration. Grand parents and other relatives are left to raise the children of the addicted or else they are placed in foster homes. I include secular and faith based treatment with The Jennifer Act. I am very familiar with faith based treatment and have witnessed many lives changed, who have received faith based treatment. In conclusion, as a Christian,I feel that The Jennifer Act is a ministry that God has intended for His purpose and plan. My website has brought many people to contact me from all across the United States. They ask me for help, advice, references and many are grieving parents who have just lost their children to overdose death. They are devastated and share the most candid emails with me about their loved one who passed away. I remain hopeful that we will see The Jennifer Act manifest and families will be saved by this important intervention tool. I am including the bill draft for your review.
Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

Mrs. Sharon Blair

Five Years of NOPE Candlelight Vigils

Five Years of NOPE Candlelight Vigils

Our message has caught the attention of young people who have suffered like so many others from our nation’s drug abuse problems. Many teens and young adults attended 51 NOPE vigils in late October.   

By Karen Perry

At the recent NOPE National Candlelight Vigil in West Palm Beach, Fla., I shared the stage with Florida’s attorney general, a former state senator, the local state attorney, a top sheriff’s official, a county commissioner and a TV news anchor.

That level of support was incredible – and unimaginable when we started organizing vigils five years ago to raise awareness about substance abuse and open the doors to recovery.

Just as powerful for me on that Oct. 27^th evening, though, was being among the young people.  

The few dozen teenagers and young adults sitting in chairs and stands in the pavilion was the reason we created the vigil in Palm Beach County, as well as in dozens of other places across the nation. Like so many other Americans, our youths are deeply impacted by the drug overdose epidemic. They too have lost loved ones and close friends.

Still, studies show that many middle school, high school and college students aren’t too concerned about experimenting with powerful pain medications. Too many young people aren’t clear about the potentially deadly consequences of mixing prescription pills with alcohol and illicit drugs.

That’s the perception our vigils are trying to change.

We started the vigils with just three sites: Palm Beach County, Fla., Orlando, Fl., and Lassen County, Calif. I still remember getting a call from the organizer in Lassen County who was in tears about the success of the first vigil. The moon was beautiful that night – and we both saw it from opposite coasts in the U.S. That same year, in 2007, the federal drug enforcement agent who investigated my son’s fatal drug overdose case spoke at the vigil at University of Central Florida.

The following year, we expanded the vigils to New Hampshire, Indiana and Martin County, Fla.  And the events, held during the last week of October in conjunction with Red Ribbon Week, grew from there.

This year, 51 communities organized vigils.

Along the way, we got big names like the nation’s drug czar Gil Kerlikowske and Florida’s Attorney General Pam Bondi to speak at our West Palm Beach vigils. They came because they believed in our message: it’s time to change perceptions that the disease of addiction is deserved and shameful.

Attorney General Bondi said it best during the most recent vigil: “When it comes to addiction, there is no place to blame. There’s only a place to love.”

I couldn’t agree more. Hopefully our young people understood that message as well. By coming to the vigil, I suspect they did.

If you value NOPE Task Force’s commitment to preventing drug overdoses, please consider a voluntary payment to support the organization. Donate at www.nopetaskforce.org/donations.asp.

Karen Perry is the executive director of NOPE Task Force.