BY DEBBIE PAGE
The Drug Alcohol Coalition of Iredell will hold its third annual “In The Know: A Community Conversation on Substance Misuse” event on Tuesday, February 18, at the Statesville Civic Center from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Breakfast and lunch are provided.
This conversation is for everyone — parents, the faith community, school employees, business leaders, government leaders, elected officials, law enforcement, first responders, and interested community members — because solving the substance misuse crisis will take everyone connecting and committing to the prevention and treatment cause.
The entire community is invited to this free event, hosted by emcee Jeff Eades of Partners.
Please register on Eventbrite for breakfast and lunch counts! (Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/in-the-know-a-community-conversation-about-substance-misuse-tickets-1126349685229?)
Delton Russell, Region Four Tobacco Control manager, will deliver the keynote address, “Addiction and the Developing Brain.” Stephanie Duck will also be sharing her personal story of losing her son to fentanyl poisoning.
The event will also feature three break-out sessions on a variety of topics and multiple opportunities to visit information tables with materials from from local prevention, treatment, and recovery agencies.
Break-out sessions include the Hidden in Plain Sight teen bedroom, Changing the Narrative with Addiction, Iredell Davis Behavorial Health, Hard to Swallow: Youth Exposure to Alcohol, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Veteran’s Treatment Court, and Narcan Training.
LEARN MORE
Contact DACI Program Coordinator Kristin Blumenstein at kristin@daciredell.com.
To arrange for transportation to the event, email admin@daciredell.com or call (704) 448-3848.
ONEBOX OPIOD REVERSAL KITS
Blumenstein proposed DACi apply for opioid settlement money to purchase 10 ONEbox opioid reversal kits to place in county and other government buildings. She said these kits are an alternative to providing Narcan training to staff.
The durable, lightweight, and mountable or transportable boxes cost $150 each and contain three pieces of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), a high-resolution video screen with a one-minute bilingual emergency instruction video, a five-plus minute training video, a tagging system for inventory management, and a charging cord. The box also holds user-supplied naloxone, which DACI can supply.
The ONEbox promotes safety by assuring that individuals have life-saving, on-demand training when and where they need it. One box provides a compact durable and easily deployable solution by combining access to easy to understand video instructions, and hands on training.
NEW MEMBER/COMMUNITY RESOURCES
Blumenstein is working on new member packets for prospective DACI members. The packet will be available under the DACI website resource tab when complete. The website also has trainings available online that coalition and community members can access at https://www.daciredell.com/educate.
PARENT EDUCATION: TALK IT UP/LOCK IT UP TEEN ALCOHOL PREVENTION PROGRAM
Blumenstein also told DACI members about the Talk It Up, Lock It Up campaign at talkituplockitup.org. She said the number one source of alcohol for teens is their parents’ liquor cabinet.
The campaign encourages parents to lock up alcohol in their homes by either purchasing bottle locks for open bottles or cable locks for cabinets. It also encourages parents to get in the habit of locking up all alcohol in their homes to avoid teen access.
There is also a tool to calculate the numbers of people that could have access to alcohol in their home by inputting how many kids come into the home and the place that it is stored to add up the table number of possible accesses.
Blumenstein said parents should talk to kids about alcohol and drinking because of the dangers to their developing brains and the increased danger of developing further substance use disorders for every year teens drink before the age of 18.
Teen drinking before age 15 increases this chance of additional substance misuse by 80 percent, so delaying the first use of alcohol as long as possible is important to avoid other types of future substance misuse.
COMMUNITY INTERVIEWS
Because youth surveys are no longer happening in schools, Blumenstein is conducting community interviews both online and in person as well as on online forms to gather data about the issues in Iredell County.
The interview is available online at https://www.daciredell.com/community-interview and only takes 20 minutes. Everyone who completes the interview is entered into a prize drawing for an Amazon gift card.
Blumenstein is also looking for youth groups from whom she can gather additional data. Contact her at kristin@daciredell.com if interested in participating.
TOBACCO 21
Blumenstein also asked coalition members and community members to get involved in the Tobacco 21 Initiative in North Carolina. This law also applies to vaping as well.
Raising the age to purchase tobacco products is part of an evidence-based strategy to reduce youth tobacco use. To match federal law, the legislature must adopt a new law that raises the legal age of purchase to 21. North Carolina is one of eight states who have not followed suit, putting federal substance use disorder treatment funds at risk.
Police can only enforce the age 18 rule in North Carolina because the state has not raised the tobacco/nicotine purchase age to 21 as required by the federal government.
By 2025, the state’s under 21 tobacco/vape violations must be under 20 percent to comply with Synar federal laws or North Carolina will suffer penalties of up to 10 percent of federal block grant funds (more than $5.2 million), used for substance use disorder treatment.
“We don’t want to punish kids under 18 for buying cigarettes, but connect them to cessation services,” said Blumenstein.
Blumenstein has a letter template (available at https://www.daciredell.com/resources) that coalition and committee members can sign and send to legislators.
Community members and organizations can also order free medication lockboxes and pouches, medication disposal kits, Narcan, and fentanyl test strips online from DACI at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf_toD4igv25xbYo-5cZh_iI06s8Isg2inc6VjpVY4G-RN2lQ/viewform.
ABOUT DACI
Since 2012, the Drug-Alcohol Coalition of Iredell (DACI) has been committed to the reduction and prevention of substance use, misuse, and overdose deaths and focused on building community awareness, education, and prevention. The group is passionate about providing support and hope for individuals and family member of those struggling with substance use issues. The coalition is made up of community agencies and non-profits, county agencies, emergency responders, individuals in recovery, law enforcement, mental health providers, elected officials, hospitals and medical professionals, local school systems, faith community, pharmacists, substance use treatment providers, peer support specialists, and concerned community members and family members.
DACI MONTHLY MEETINGS
The group normally meets the third Monday of each month at the Cooperative Extension Center at 444 Bristol Drive from 12 noon to 1 p.m. Lunch is provided. However, the February meeting is cancelled in lieu of In the Know event. The next regular meeting is on March 17.