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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

McNeill To Host Second Town Hall Concerning Heroin ODs on Wednesday

In the aftermath of the public interest sparked by his first town hall on the heroin and opioid addiction epidemic, State Rep. Dan McNeill recently hosted a St. Paddy Day fundraiser, not to fill his own coffers, but to fund research. He will also host a second town hall this Wednesday, 6 pm, at American Club Pavilion, 300 Cherry St., Coplay.

“We need to keep this conversation going in order to educate everyone about the seriousness of this issue, McNeill said in a news release. “If we can prevent one young life from being lost, it will be worth it.”

Some of the scheduled speakers include: Detective Sgt. Jeffrey Taylor, Drug Enforcement Agency; Nancy Howe of G.R.A.S.P. (Grief Recovery After A Substance Passing); Donna Jacobsen, parent leader of the Lehigh Valley Parent and Family Support Group; Devin Reaves, Young People in Recovery; and Chelsea Ruane and Sarah McCann, recovering addicts. Several parents who have lost a child to an overdose have also asked to speak.

Parents and students are invited to ask questions and be part of the discussion.

The meeting will continue the conversation about why children get involved with drugs, how drug use can be prevented through education, and what the a community can do to fight back against such destructive behavior with often-tragic results.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Host

Bernie O'Hare said...

There goes my Keystone Press award. My glory lasted two days.

Anonymous said...

Did all the money form the fundraiser go to benefit those folks? Every cent??

Bernie O'Hare said...

I'll ask on Wednesday. You can ask too, you know.

Anonymous said...

Town Hall meetings are great for free publicity, and will likely be used on campaign literature to make it appear that he is "doing something" about the issue, but McNeill is a state representative. So where's the real action to back up this concern?

Just recently, McNeill stood in lockstep with the Governor as Wolf held funding for drug abuse and other needed Human Services hostage for almost a year (as well as school and other funding). McNeill's done nothing to counteract Wolf's continued shorting of funds for these services he supposedly is so concerned about.

Until I see some real action, I view this as an attempt by McNeill to use the current problem to misdirect attention from his failures as a legislator.