Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Opioid Prevention topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Vision Ministries tells Lawrence County commissioners education is key to opioid prevention
Summary
Vision Ministries leaders updated the commissioners on a school-based opioid-prevention curriculum, a scholarship and billboard poster contest; they said opioid settlement dollars fund local programs and thanked the county advisory board for support.
Vision Ministries leaders told the Lawrence County Board of Commissioners on April 28 that education is central to preventing youth opioid use and described an expanding program delivered in county schools.
During the public-comment period, Vision Ministries President Randy Crown and Vice President Von Cree described "Operation Prevention," a curriculum adapted from a federal program and tailored for local schools that the group said is now running at Mohawk and being offered to other districts. They said the curriculum includes grade-specific lessons starting in third grade, pre- and post-tests to measure effectiveness, and a scholarship for a Mohawk senior tied to academic criteria.
"The key to prevention is education," Randy Crown said, urging broader adoption across county schools and describing outreach to roughly 2,000 students this year. The group said it also plans a poster contest for middle and high school students whose winning designs will appear on county billboards.
The presenters described additional outreach activities: weekly visits to the Lawrence County jail, a memorial-walk program, and a recent "Braveheart" recovery event with about 300 attendees where people in long-term recovery gave testimonies. They said the personal experience of some volunteers — including family members lost to overdose — is a central part of the program's message.
County officials said the programs are being supported with opioid legal settlement dollars being distributed to counties. "These dollars are what the gentlemen are referencing — opioid legal settlement dollars — and all 67 counties in the state have received these funds," the chair said during the meeting.
Mr. Vanasco, chair of the county opioid advisory board, and county staff said the advisory board has met with community partners and recommended allocations to support such programs. Commissioners thanked the presenters for the work and for the role volunteers play in schools and recovery events.
The commissioners did not take formal action on additional funding at the meeting; presenters and county staff signaled openness to continued coordination between the advisory board, the treasurer's office and planning staff on program implementation and reporting.
