WTOC highlighted the LowCountry Alliance for Healthy Youth’s (LCAHY) Community Forum on the Opioid Epidemic. The intent of the forum was to educate individuals on the facts of the opioid public health crisis and encourage them to act by properly disposing of prescription medication. SC Representative Shannon Erickson gave an overview of the House’s Opioid Epidemic Committee’s eight-month study results. The Beaufort County Coroner presented and shared that 42,000 people overdosed on opioids in the United States in 2016, and 616 of those deaths were in South Carolina. Dr. Ravi Srivastava, a psychiatrist, and addiction specialist addressed the dangers of opioids misuse. LCAHY board member and psychologist, Dr. Lynn Geiger, stated that teens are susceptible to addiction because of their developing brains. In addition, LCAHY’s youth coalition, Teens for Healthy Youth (THY), addressed each community sector and the role they could play in preventing misuse of prescription drugs. Adelyn Helms, THY President at Bluffton High, expressed the importance of talking to youth about the crisis and educating the community. To read more about LCAHY’s Community Forum and the opioid problem, see https://www.wtoc.com/story/37378441/study-results-released-as-lowcountry-battles-opioid-epidemic/. For a list of local medicine drop box locations and more information about opioid misuse, visit https://www.lcahealthyyouth.com/.
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