Community Corner

Romeoville Event Center to Host 'Hero Helps' Anti-Heroin Forum

Will County now partnering with DuPage County Health Department to spread message of heroin prevention and treatment.

Submitted by the Office of Will County Executive Larry Walsh:

The 2014 Hero Helps Community Summit is slated for Saturday, May 17 at the Romeoville Athletic and Event Center in Romeoville, 55 Phelps Ave. in Romeoville. 

This year’s event will focus on how to stop heroin abuse by turning the tide through collaboration.  On this third annual event, HERO (Heroin Epidemic Resource Organization) and Will County HELPS (Heroin Education Leads to Preventative Solutions) have joined with the DuPage Health Department to further the message of heroin prevention and treatment.

“We are very excited to work with DuPage County to make this event more regional in its scope,” said Paul Lauridsen, chairman of the event. “Will County and DuPage County have both experienced high rates of heroin use and overdose deaths so it is a perfect partnership to join together to spread our message.”

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One of the topics to be addressed during this year’s forum is the DuPage Narcan Program (DNP) spearheaded by the collaborative efforts among the DuPage County Health Department, the DuPage County Chairman, DuPage County Coroner, DuPage County State’s Attorney, DuPage County Sheriff and the DuPage County Chiefs of Police Association.

“The sole mission of the DNP is to save lives” said George DeTella, who will be representing the DuPage County Health Department when he speaks about the DNP at this year’s forum. “It is through these strong community partnerships that we are able to train and supply law-enforcement with this life-saving Narcan that can reverse the potentially fatal opioid overdose”. 

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State legislators will also be talking about the Youth Heroin Task Force that was established in 2013. The educational sessions will highlight the progress and practices in the areas of the science of addiction, treatment options, and the role of law enforcement in fighting heroin.

Families, public officials, law enforcement, health care providers, educators and the public are all encouraged to attend and learn more about the heroin crisis and potential solutions.

CPDUs, CMEs and CEUs are being provided for education, medical, social work professionals, licensed professional counselors, and addiction prevention, treatment and recovery support professionals

In order to be able to estimate attendance for this event, community members planning to attend are encouraged to visit the website: www.herohelpsevent.com to sign up.


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