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Community Corner

Senator Bertino-Tarrant, Representative Manley to host Young Adults Heroin Use Task Force Hearing

SPRINGFIELD—State Senator Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant and Representative Natalie Manley will be hosting the fourth hearing of the Young Adults Heroin Use Task Force on Saturday, April 19 at 10 a.m.

The hearing will be held at Troy Middle School (5800 W. Theodore Street) in Plainfield. The meeting is open to the public, however testimony will be limited.

The Plainfield hearing will address psychological effects and treatment of heroin, how it affects the family, first-hand accounts of the repercussions of heroin use, and what Will County has been working on to combat the drug.

“Will County has been working to combat this epidemic for quite some time,” said Bertino-Tarrant, who was recently appointed co-chairman of the Task Force.  “We still have a long way to go, but for the first time since 1999 the number of heroin-related deaths in Will County has decreased.”

The goal of the Young Adults Heroin Use Task Force is to help coordinate the education and prevention efforts between law enforcement and treatment centers, as well as find legislative solutions to the mounting crisis. Members of the Task Force are working closely with area middle schools and high schools to educate students and prevent heroin use.

“Our community must continue to work together to prevent our children from using heroin,” said Manley. “While we have made progress, my hope is that we will all have a better and more comprehensive understanding of heroin addiction, so that we will be able to make the best recommendations for effective programs within schools.”

Prior to the Task Force being created in Springfield, Bertino-Tarrant hosted two local heroin prevention forums, partnering with Representative Manley, local officials, Will County HELPS and the Will County State’s Attorney’s office.  She has also introduced a proposal in the Senate that would assist the Department of Public Health with tracking heroin-related deaths by requiring county coroner's to report the number of heroin-related deaths to the Department annually.

Speakers at the Plainfield hearing will include Will County Executive, Larry Walsh; Will County Coroner, Pat O’Neil; Stepping Stones’ Executive Director, Pete McLenighan; Strategic Prevention's Kathleen Burke; and from the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, Coordinator of the Adult and Juvenile Drug Courts, Julie McCabe-Sterr.

For more information on the hearing, please contact Senator Bertino-Tarrant’s district office at 815-254-211 or submit an e-mail via www.senatorbertinotarrant.com.

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