On Tuesday, September 9th, an opioid awareness c ommunity dinner and forum was held at Essex High School.
Essex State Representative Rey Garofano, and Essex Resident Lorraine Zaloom organized and facilitated the event.
Opioids are a class of natural, semi-synthetic, and synthetic drugs that include both prescription medications and illegal drugs like heroin.
The evening began with a community barbecue dinner followed by a panel discussion moderated by Garafano.
During the presentation, participants described the loss of family members and extremely difficult times in their lives.
“I think all of us in Vermont and across the country have seen the impact of opioids on our communities, and we feel that we have an opportunity here, with funds that are coming to our towns and our communities, to put some programs in place,” Garofano said. “I think this is a unique opportunity to really engage with the community and let them know that support is available, there are resources for them after living or have lived experiences, or if they want to know what prevention strategies there are”.
The funds Garafano is referring to are related to a national lawsuit that the state of Vermont signed on to. Opioid manufacturer Purdue has agreed to send communities in Vermont with a population over 10,000, $22 million in settlement funds. The money must be spent on opioid abatement including prevention, reduction, and recovery services.
Garofano gathered people from all different professions and backgrounds, but they all had one thing in common: they were all personally affected by opioids.
Tammy Getchell is an Essex Town staff member who also helped organize this event. She is responsible for watching the over settlement funds coming to Essex.
“Part of this project is going to be putting out a survey to see what the priorities are in our community,” Getchell said. “What do they want to see us do with the opioid settlement funds? There are restrictions. So my job, and all of this, is the management of the funds.”
Lori Houghton, House Majority Leader and member of the House Health Care Committee, was also in attendance at the event.
“We have community members that have been impacted by subsistence use disorders, and it’s important that we can learn everything we can in order to help them,” Houghton said.
State Representative Leonora Dodge was personally impacted by the opioid crisis.
“I had a nephew who overdosed and died, and I think his story was so shocking to so many of his friends and family, because he was a superstar student, he was a super athlete, he was a deep thinker, a big reader,” Dodge said. “I think that if a kid like that can get lost to this…it really alarms us that we need to act.”
If you or someone you know needs help, you can call 211 or First Call at 802-488-7777.
