The heroin epidemic in our area is our of control. Now there is a community doing something about it. And they want you to be a part of it.

Say something...ABOUT HEROIN is an important event coming to the Algonquin Theater. And you are invited. It is a 5-part program that, in all, will provide education, prevention, intervention, treatment, and postvention information.

Although heroin has been a problem in our area for many years, it has never been as bad as it is now. In fact, it is now being called an epidemic. Young adults and teenagers are overdosing and dying in alarming numbers. And many of them are good kids...our community kids....kids that were supposed to graduate and go to college, have careers and become amazing parents. But instead they are becoming addicts. And we are all left in tears when we can't save them.

These teens and young adults (and adults, too) aren't living in the slums. They are your next door neighbors, although nobody seems to want to hear that. Instead, we hear "not my kid" more than we hear "please tell me more about this so that I can prevent this from happening to my kid."

Then there are those who think they already know what heroin is all about. But there is new information every day and you will learn something new by the experts when you attend this event.

"Say Something About Heroin:, a Community Forum", will feature Retired Drug Enforcement Agency Agent Doug Collier, who is currently the Drug Initiative Coordinator and Law Enforcement Liaison for the Office of the Attorney General. Also speaking, Dr. Ramon Sohlkhah, the Head of Psychiatry at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, who will discuss co-occurring dependency and the development of the brain on drugs.

This event will also feature a panel of experts from the mental health profession, local law enforcement officials, addiction specialists, a local family that has dealt with a fatal heroin overdose, and a local person in recovery.

Question and answer time will be available for everyone as well as refreshments.

You'll leave this event with a better understanding of how to know if your children are using drugs, how you can help the addicted user, as well as information on prescription drug use and precautions.

So please, especially parents and guardians, grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers, etc.....please come to the Algonquin Arts Theater on Main Street in Manasquan on Wednesday evening, May 14th, 2014, from 7 pm - 9:30 pm, and learn what you can do to prevent this nightmare happening to your child.

Some of the other upcoming events that are part of this series will include a youth-focused event, an event to provide information about intervention, treatment and recovery, and a course on mental health first aid, since addiction is so often accompanied by a co-occurring mental health issue.

This program is brought to you by the Wall Alliance, Shore Community Alliance, and the Manasquan Ministerium.

For more information, call the Alliance office at 732-820-4792.

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