Northeast Delta Human Services Authority (NEDHSA) is set to host its 2022 Opioid Summit on Thursday, June 16, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the West Monroe Convention Center located at 901 Ridge Avenue, West Monroe. The theme for the 2022 Opioid Summit is "O.U.R. (Openly Using Recovery) Strategies to Rise Above Stigma."
NEDHSA Executive Director Dr. Monteic A. Sizer said this event is vital to the region and state, and that "attendees will learn how to better identify the casual and correlated factors associated with opioid addiction, and learn how to implement prevention and evidence-based treatment strategies to help mitigate opioid addiction.”
"Thousands die every year due to opioid-involved overdoses. The misuse and addiction to opioids—including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl—are a serious national crisis that affects population health, incarceration rates, encourages underground drug economies, and ravages individuals, families, and communities, to name a few," Dr. Sizer said. "With our Opioid Summit, we intend to inform, inspire, equip, and empower those who attend so that the regional safety-net we are building can become even stronger and better able to serve those with complex addiction, mental illness, and primary healthcare needs.”
NEDHSA's Opioid Summit is an opportunity for behavioral health professionals, primary healthcare workers, law enforcement, federal, state, and local officials, clergy, and advocates to come together and collaborate on how to meet this complex societal issue with action. NARCAN training and distribution will also be available to all attendees.
Michael D. Gatson, Ph.D., will be this event's keynote speaker. Other panelists and speakers include Dr. Sizer; Dr. Stephen Hill; Dr. Cesar Gonzales; Ellen Hammons, L.C.S.W. – B.A.C.S.; Pamela Henderson, M.S.W., R.S.W.; and Sandra Thomas, M.S.W., R.S.W. at the Department of Children & Family Services; Kendra Edwards, L.M.S.W.; and Brent Ambacher, LaSOR State Peer Recovery Specialist.
To register for this event as a participant and/or vendor, visit: https://nedhsaopioid.eventbrite.com
For more information, contact Kara Etienne at kara.etienne@la.gov.