Opioid Use in the Community

A local project with the U of I Extension Program, that connects the U of I with the community, will highlight the local impact of the opioid crisis in our area communities. From the News-Gazette today:

Family Life | UI Extension plans resource fair, film screening on opioids
...
Between July 2016 and September 2017, opioid overdoses rose 30 percent in 45 states; in the Midwestern region, the increase was 70 percent.

Last fall, University of Illinois Extension was approached about doing a program about opioid use in our community.

Kathy Sweedler and I realized that this was not a topic that was in our wheelhouse and decided to host an event to bring in other experts to talk about the issue and highlight local resources.

The event is set for tonight at the UI Extension office at 801 N. Country Fair Drive, C. Doors open around 5:30 p.m. with resource tables available, following by a screening of the film "The Heroin Project" at 6.

The documentary looks at the heroin epidemic in Madison County and shows how it affects the entire community...

Following the movie, a panel of local experts will be on hand to talk and answer questions. Confirmed panelists include Jonathan Sweedler, a UI chemistry professor and director of the Neuroproteomics and Neurometabolomics Center on Cell-Cell Signaling, which is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse; as well as representatives from Dominion Diagnostic, Rosecrance, Chestnut Health Systems, the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, UI police and the Champaign Fire Department.

The health district, Rosecrance, Chestnut Health Systems and Dominion Diagnostic will also be hosting resources tables.

More information at the full article here. At the bottom of the article are numerous resource links for help and services. The event registration itself, however, appears to be closed at this time at the link given: go.illinois.edu/filmseries.