We toss the words around quite a bit. You might be “addicted” to Indians baseball and are looking forward to getting your opening day “fix”. We are also becoming increasingly aware of the other uses of the word “addiction.” Addictions are much more serious and can have dire consequences.
Addiction “is the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.” An addiction can be to body image, alcohol, caffeine, gambling, and most recently and with increasingly horrific instances to opioids. Find out what this means to our community when Partnership for a Healthy North Royalton, PHNR, presents a comprehensive 3 part series entitled, “Drugs and Addiction 911: Our community, Our Emergency, Our Solutions.”
PHNR Coalition Director, Amy Kuntz, announced, “Everyone and anyone is invited to come and take part in a 3 night informational series aimed at educating and empowering our family, friends, and neighbors to go beyond the news stories and see the impact at street level here in the suburbs.”
In the interest of better educating our community on the current landscape of substance use disorder, this presentation will include many substances of addiction including alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and the opioid crisis.
Amy states, “This event will help give the participants a look into the world of substance abuse and its impact across families, communities, and resources.”
This is a story that needs to be heard here in North Royalton and Broadivew Heights. “I believe there is still a feeling that this is not affecting our neighborhoods, those who believe that could not be more wrong. It’s here, and we need to be talking about addiction to help reduce the stigma; to help families affected by this sickness.”
In September 2013, Partnership for a Healthy North Royalton, PHNR, was awarded a Drug-Free Communities grant. That means that our community has received $125,000 a year through 2017 that has been used by PHNR and its partners to promote healthy drug-free lifestyles through communication, education, and supportive services.
The main speaker at the community event will be Jim Joyner, Licensed Independent Chemical Dependency Counselor Clinical Supervisor (LICDC-CS) with 42 years of experience. Jim Joyner states, “There is no other problem that we face in America today that has greater negative impact on the quality of life that touches every man, woman and child then the combined consequences related to misuse of and addiction to alcohol, tobacco, and drugs.” (http://www.joynerandassociates.com)
Jim, along with other local experts will highlight the impact of addiction on our homes, schools and neighborhoods.
The series will be Mondays April 3, 24, and May 15, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. hosted by North Royalton United Methodist Church, 13601 Ridge Road, North Royalton. There will be a Question and Answer period after the presentation.
If you would like more information please contact Amy Kuntz, Coalition Director for the Partnership for a Healthy North Royalton, 440.582.7834 ext. 3767, North Royalton High School, Room 103A, and 14713 Ridge Road, North Royalton. Email her at: amy.kuntz@northyroyaltonsd.org. The PHNR website is currently under construction but you can find information on their Facebook page or Twitter account, @healthyNR.
PHNR reminds you to dispose of your unused, unneeded and outdated prescription drugs at the police station any time or look for Drug Take Back events through the year. The next DEA drug “Take Back” event will be Saturday, April 29, 2017.
By LINDA KWARCIANY
Contributing Writer