Photos: Talk Across the Board at BHS Town Hall Meeting on Drug Abuse, Overdoses in West Virginia
By Tyler Maxwell on January 29, 2015 via Connect-Bridgeport.com
This evening's Town Hall Meeting held at Bridgeport High School on Drug Abuse focused on “Prevention-Intervention-Treatment-Recovery.” The keynote was presented by William J. Ihlenfeld, II, who is the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia.
Ihlenfeld spoke on several statistics, such as 8,257 lives were taken by heroin overdose in 2013 alone. West Virginia currently has the highest mortality rate due to overdose in the nation; there was a 134% growth of deaths between 2012 and 2013. The most effected age range is 25-34 according to statistics, but the age range of actual users is all over the spectrum.
Brianna, a BHS graduate, spoke to her heroin addiction and some of her experiences and ways that she may or may not have ended up on the path she did. Dr. Mark Manchin, Harrison County Superintendent of Schools, spoke to her specifically about things that the school board could have done or things they could implement to help teenagers that are going through similar situations.
More coverage coming up later on Connect-Bridgeport.
See video of Ihlenfeld's address HERE.
Photos By Tyler Maxwell of www.BenQueenPhotography.com
