Ripon will host Town Hall meeting on opioid epidemic Monday

The Ripon Opioid Initiative of Drug Free Communities of Fond du Lac County (DFC) will host a Town Hall meeting Monday May 7 at 5 p.m. in the community room of Ripon High School.

Team leaders for the Four Pillars work groups, who are cooperating to address opioid abuse in the Ripon area, will provide a report out with an update on the goals established for each pillar.

Attendees then will break out into sessions to gain community insights and help on how to address challenges around opioid use.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdoses from prescription opioids and heroin are among the major causes of preventable death in the United States.

Ripon is not immune from this trend. Opioid related overdoses climbed from two in 2012 to seven in 2017, as reported from the city of Ripon EMS Department. Mixed toxicity deaths, most involving opioid use, in Ripon have decreased from five between 2014 and 2016 to zero opioid overdose deaths in 2017.

Year to date, one opioid-related overdose death has been recorded in the Ripon area.

Increased access to and utilization of naloxone (Narcan) by first responders and community members to reverse an overdose may contribute to decreasing opioid related deaths and save lives.

Breakout sessions will be led by the following Pillar leaders:

? Prevention Pillar: Chad McKnight, Ripon Printers

? Harm Reduction Pillar: Alysha Kloeckner, Families United

? Treatment Pillar: Tami Schattschnieder, SSM Health-Agnesian

? Law Enforcement Pillar: Officer Tim Schroeder, city of Ripon Police Department.

"Our community, families members, parents, friends and coworkers need to know the ease for an opioid addiction to develop and be aware of the resources available in our community to address addiction," Ripon Police Chief and DFC member Bill Wallner said. "Without prevention, intervention and support, as well as treatment, law enforcement cannot solve this issue alone."

In addition to the Town Hall Meeting, hard copies of the annual Report Card to the Community will be available to the public for review. Following the meeting, the report will be available electronically on the DFC website.

For more information on local efforts being used to address the opioid epidemic and what can be done to prevent prescription drug abuse in Fond du Lac County, visit www.drugfreefdl.com, call 920-906-6700 (ext. 4704) or find the group on Facebook.