Assemblywoman Addis speaking at May 6th Opioid Flag Memorial
Monterey County, CA, May 4, 2023 - Community Human Services (CHS), Montage Health’s Prescribe Safe Initiative, Salinas Valley Health, and IHeart Radio invite the community to Opioid Flag Memorial events to help spread the word about the opioid crisis. Assemblywoman Dawn Addis, co-sponsor of AB 19, which would allow Naloxone in classrooms throughout the state, will speak at the May 6th event at Seaside City Hall.
Narcan will be distributed free of charge at the following Opioid Memorial Flag Ceremonies:
• Seaside City Hall, Saturday, May 6th, 1 – 3 p.m.
• Hartnell College in Salinas, Thursday, May 11th, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
• Sherwood Park in Salinas, Saturday, May 20th, 1 – 3 p.m.
Take part in the 2023 Virtual Recovery Run and help spread the word about the opioid crisis in our community. Runners can choose to complete a 5k or 3k run/walk by May 20th and receive a commemorative race tee shirt and medal.
Registration is open through May 20 at https://runsignup.com/Race/CA/Monterey/RecoveryRunWalk.
• Adult fee is $35 / Youth (18 and under) fee is $25.
Proceeds from the Recovery Run will go to support CHS’ efforts to provide harm-reduction methods to the community, such as Narcan, the opioid overdose reversal medication, as well as high-quality, free, and low-cost drug treatment options for Monterey County residents.
In 2018, Monterey County had the second-lowest opioid-related death rate of any county in California. Since then, counterfeit medications have entered the market, many with toxic or lethal doses of fentanyl, causing a staggering increase in opioid-related overdoses and deaths. Fentanyl is a powerful opioid, 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.
Fatal overdoses from opioids have increased eightfold since 2018, prompting the medical community, community-based organizations, and families to step up their efforts in battling the opioid crisis and ask the community for help. There were 65 opioid-related deaths in both 2020 and 2021 in Monterey County. Many of the deaths over the past couple of years are linked to counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, made to look like prescription medications.
CHS operates four drug treatment programs that address opioid dependence – Genesis House, Off Main Clinic, and two Outpatient Drug Treatment Centers – all offering medication-assisted treatment.
CHS’ mission is to provide high-quality mental health, substance abuse, and homeless services to help the residents of Monterey County reach their full potential. CHS has served Monterey County as a nonprofit Joint Powers agency since 1969.
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