Ochsner Lafayette General has brought a nationally known speaker to talk to Jeff Davis folks about opioid addiction.
Stephen Hill, who battled his own substance abuse issues, will be the keynote speaker at several events in Jefferson Davis Parish as part of an ongoing joint effort between Ochsner Lafayette General and the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP).
Starting on Monday, Hill will address all middle school and high school students who attend Jefferson Davis Public Schools.
But everyone who lives there is invited to attend a community-wide forum on March 4, 2024, at The Grand Marais located at 919 North Lake Arthur Avenue in Jennings. The event is from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Best-selling author Hill is the founder of Speak Sobriety, a recovery coach and a young person in recovery. Hill will discuss his life story from hockey standout to opioid addict. Dropping out of college because of his alcohol and marijuana use, Hill eventually turned to the opioid OxyContin and began selling drugs to support his drug addiction. An arrest led to multiple stays at treatment facilities. He finally entered long-term recovery in 2012. Hill led a panel of experts on the issue of opioid addiction in Jefferson Davis Parish last November.
The community event, along with the visits with students in the parish, is designed to begin a dialogue between parents and children about the dangers of alcohol and drug addictions (especially opioids). Louisiana is not immune to the opioid crisis facing the United States. The number of drug-related and opioid-related deaths continues to climb in Louisiana. In 2022, more than 2,600 people died because of drugs. Of those deaths, more than 1,400 were related to opioids. In 2021, nearly 16,000 Louisiana residents ended up in the emergency room with an issue related to drug poisoning. The number of deaths in Louisiana involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl has increased by more than 2,000% since 2014.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services awarded Ochsner Lafayette General a $1 million grant for opioid abuse awareness to help curb the growing problem. The Rural Communities Opioid Response Program is a national program that supports the prevention, treatment and recovery of young people living in rural communities who are struggling with substance and opioid abuse.
This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number GA1RH42904 of an award totaling $1,000,000. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
