A Community Takes Action

“Heroin: the hardest hit”

Mental Health Marketing, Centra Health

More than 300 healthcare workers, treatment providers, educators, law enforcement officers, individuals in recovery, family members and concerned citizens crowded into the First Colony Conference Center at Centra Lynchburg General Hospital in May to watch the documentary and hear the personal stories of two people in recovery and a courageous mom who lost her son to an overdose. Screening events have been held in more than a dozen locations across the Commonwealth since the film premiered last year in Richmond. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the Lynchburg event drew the largest audience to date. The 40 minute film, which can be seen at www.HardestHitVA.com, has been viewed more than 60,000 times online.

After the screening, Attorney General Mark Herring outlined his five-point plan to combat heroin and prescription opiate abuse. A key point in the plan is to develop and implement partnerships to find creative solutions to the growing problem. Other parts of the plan include educating the public, developing legislative solutions, ensuring accountability for professionals who make prescriptions illegally available, and emphasizing prevention by addressing the issue with young people so they will not use in the first place.

Herring became a champion in the fight against heroin and opiate addiction after learning of the growing public health and safety issue from the commonwealth attorneys across Virginia. The film is an example of the preventative and educational measures Herring is taking to make all Virginians more aware of the growing crisis involving heroin and prescription drugs.

“I am impressed with the initiative that is coming from law enforcement,” said Brent McCraw, director of Centra Addiction & Recovery Services. “Attorney General Herring said he realized early on that we will not arrest ourselves out of this problem. He recognizes the importance of increased awareness, prevention and treatment.”

“Our objective from this event is to create a community coalition to address this epidemic,” McCraw said. “It is not enough to just watch the film. We need to take action.”

Community coalition formed

As a result of the screening event with Attorney General Herring, a local coalition is now in its formative stages to take further steps to address the heroin/opioid crisis in Central Virginia.

People who have lost loved ones to overdose, individuals in recovery and family members of those struggling with addiction have joined with representatives of nonprofit organizations to pursue ways in which they can fight heroin and opioid drug abuse in Central Virginia.

Three dozen people attended the first meeting in June, including representatives from Centra, the UP Foundation, Horizon Behavioral Health, The Healing Place, a mutual self-help group and the YWCA of Central Virginia.

“We broke into small groups to discuss the needs around heroin and opioid abuse and some of the actions that we could take,” said Brent McCraw, director of Centra Addiction & Recovery Services. “Addiction is not going away. It’s been here forever, but we can make a difference.

The groups discussed educating the community, preventing heroin/opioid abuse, reducing the stigma associated with addiction, access to treatment, changing prescribing patterns, reducing the availability of drugs and training in the use of nasal Naloxone (a drug to counteract opiate overdoses).

“Our first objective is to make this coalition as broad as possible,” said McCraw, encouraging anyone with an interest in battling the epidemic to join the group.

“There are a lot of things we can do to make an impact on this epidemic,” McCraw said.

The group’s initial steps include forming an advisory committee to determine the coalition’s purpose, structure and achievable goals.

For more information, call Christy Meeks at 434.200.4455 or email christy. meeks@ centrahealth.