LIMA — Hopelessness can often feel like a way of life for those watching loved ones suffer and even die from opiate addiction. However, a summit held Tuesday at the University of Northwestern Ohio Event Center aimed to let high school and college students know that there is a way out.
“There’s hope, because if I can get out, so can somebody else,” according to keynote speaker Tony Hoffman, once a professional BMX rider who was sent to prison after an opiate addiction led to him breaking into a house and robbing a woman at gunpoint. After serving time in prison, Hoffman has since gone on to founding the Freewheel Project to help at-risk youth as well as coaching BMX in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Hoffman’s appearance and testimonial was part of the Intercollegiate Heroin and Opiate Prevention Education summit, an outgrowth of discussions in the Opioid Action Commission, according to Partnership for Violence Free Families Director Donna Dickman. About 150 students from area colleges as well as Allen East, Bath and Lima Central Catholic High Schools participated in the event.
“Our question is how we can provide them information on this very important topic, not just hear a speech,” she said. “They’re going to walk away with skills in recognizing when someone has a problem, in knowing local resources and what they can do to help.”
Hoffman emphasized that, whether it is a person addicted to opiates or someone who has never touched drugs, one’s destiny can often come down to one choice.
“One choice can change the rest of your life,” he said. “There are probably some kids here who will probably never use drugs, but this can still resonate with them.”
The daylong summit also included breakout sessions to learn more about opioid addiction and available resources. In one workshop, adult participants who had family or friends struggling with addiction were even able to be trained on and sign out Project DAWN kits containing the anti-opioid drug Narcan to have on hand if the event of overdose.
“We’re going to give them tools for anyone they’re worried about,” Dickman said.
Allen East junior Jonah Meyer, 17, was glad to attend the summit, hopeful that he would leave with a greater understanding of opioid addiction.
“I’m hoping to understand more how to help high schoolers identify [warning signs] and how to best handle the situation,” he said.
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