San Joaquin County holds fentanyl awareness town hall to prevent opioid overdoses
STOCKTON -- Officials in San Joaquin County held a fentanyl awareness town hall Monday in Stockton in an effort to provide tools and information that could help prevent opioid overdoses.
The town hall meeting ended with a Narcan training and distribution. Narcan is used to reverse an opioid overdose and has been shown to save lives if administered in time.
The town hall was held by San Joaquin County Public Health Services alongside the county's Opioid Safety Coalition, Office of Education, and District Attorney's Office. It included speakers from San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Cindy De Silva, San Joaquin County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Troy A. Brown, and keynote speaker Tony Hoffman.
There was a panel presentation with speakers that included substance use disorder physician Dr. David N. Araiza from Community Medical Centers and Ashlee Zarou from Central Valley California High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (CVC-HIDTA).
Community members, parents, students, and educators were in attendance, and those CBS13 spoke to at the event, all had different inspirations as to why they chose to attend the annual town hall.
"As a father myself, it's important to have this knowledge, especially for our younger kids, if we don't teach them now, who will?" said one parent, Andrew Guiterrez.
In a statement ahead of the event Dr. Troy A. Brown, San Joaquin County Superintendent of Schools said: "The dangers of fentanyl are real, and too many young people in San Joaquin County have suffered from fentanyl overdoses. We can make a difference if we work together, not just as organizations, but as individuals. It is important to be informed and to talk to our children about the dangers of fentanyl and drug use."
Three students from Manteca High School told CBS13 they came to learn more information about stocking every classroom at their school with Narcan.