The Helios Alliance Hosts Second Coastal Alabama Opioid Abatement Summit
On October 10, The Helios Alliance convened local leaders, advocates, and concerned community members for the second annual Coastal Alabama Opioid Abatement Summit. This event, held at the Innovation Portal in Mobile, Alabama, drew over 100 attendees for a morning filled with robust conversation about the state of substance use within Alabama, as well as innovative community-based solutions and programs.
The theme for the day was “Communities behind the Crisis – Creating Communities of Recovery.” Attendees heard from a variety of speakers how building a strong, healthy community to combat the opioid epidemic is vital to any success that we will have.
Mayor Sandy Stimpson opened the Summit, appropriately saying that “collaboration is probably the most significant thing” to make a difference, as well as challenging all within the room to “recommit that we’re going to work together to find solutions.”
Following Mayor Stimpson, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall addressed the crowd, discussing the need to save individual lives using data-driven approaches. He said, “We have an opportunity, generationally, to make a difference in our state, and I truly believe as a result of the leadership in this community, Mobile is going to lead the charge for how this can be done effectively.”
Following remarks by General Marshall and Mayor Stimpson, attendees enjoyed four panels that touched on all aspects of our theme, the Communities behind the Crisis.
Panel 1 detailed the state of both the legal and illegal drug market in Alabama, with speakers discussing the extremely high rate of prescription opioids within the State and how the illegal drug market continues to expand in reach and in product offerings. Panel 2 discussed the importance of community-wide education that addresses not only prevention efforts but also stigma and discrimination. Panel 3 highlighted innovative treatment programs that already exist in the City of Mobile’s criminal justice system, and Panel 4 focused on the need for trust within a community to have true innovation.
Following the Summit, AL.com’s John Sharp wrote an informative and incisive piece not only about our event, but about the broader settlement allocation process in the State.
As panelist Sandra Thurman observed: “It all starts and ends in the community,” and Helios could not be more excited about the level of community engagement that happened around this event.
