Shaler Area School District will host its second annual Opioid Epidemic Community Town Hall Meeting to address substance use and mental wellness on Thursday, April 19, from 6-9 p.m. at the Shaler Area High School, 381 Wible Run Road.
The Town Hall Meeting will shine a light on the growing opioid epidemic and provide information on warning signs, prevention, education, and treatment options. The event also will help teach appropriate ways to engage, support, and encourage at-risk individuals.
This year’s Town Hall Meeting will feature a vendor fair highlighting a variety of community resources for individuals looking for specific information about prevention, treatment, or support and a speaker series.
The speaker series will kick off at 7 p.m. with keynote speaker Dr. C. Thomas Brophy, a Shaler Area graduate who specializes in emergency and addiction medicine. The keynote speech will be followed by a breakout session during which time participants will have the option to hear more information about one of three different topics: addiction treatments and resources, prevention and education (K-12), or a personal testimony from a parent who lost her daughter to addiction. The evening will end with a question and answer panel discussion from the featured speakers and local law enforcement.
The Town Hall Meeting will be the culminating event of a daylong focus on opioid awareness within the secondary schools. Keynote speaker Dr. Brophy will spend the day presenting assemblies on opioid awareness to students at the middle school and high school.
The school assemblies are for Shaler Area students in grades 7-12. The Town Hall event is free and open to the public. It is appropriate for students in grades 6-12 and adults.
Schedule of Events:
6 - 7 p.m.
Open house featuring local vendors and community resources
7 - 7:45 p.m.
Keynote speaker:
Dr. C. Thomas Brophy
Emergency Medicine &
Addiction Medicine
(Shaler Area Class of 1997)
7:45 - 8:30 p.m.
Three breakout sessions addressing education, prevention, or treatment
8:30 - 9 p.m.
Q&A panel discussion with all featured speakers and local law enforcement
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
ADDICTION TREATMENTS & RESOURCES
What treatment options are available?
What support services can help?
PREVENTION & EDUCATION (K-12)
What are students learning in Shaler Area schools?
How can positive lessons be reinforced at home?
What are the warning signs of abuse or addiction?
PERSONAL TESTIMONY
A parent’s difficult journey with her daughter’s addiction and her honest obituary that went viral