Monterey County, CA, May 9, 2023 – Join Community Human Services (CHS), Montage Health, Salinas Valley Health, and IHeart Radio at the Opioid Flag Memorial, Main Quad of the Hartnell Salinas Campus, Thursday, May 11th. The event gets underway at 11 am – with comments from Hartnell President Michael Gutierrez. Find out about Hartnell College’s proactive stand on the opioid crisis as they provide much-needed opioid prevention education for students with the Flag Memorial. 1800 personally dedicated flags on display show the impact of the Opioid Crisis on Monterey County. Lifesaving Narcan kits will be available free of charge.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 100,000 Americans — and about 10,000 people in California — died of drug overdoses in the year ending in April 2021, a nationwide increase of 28.5% from the year before.
In 2021, more than 800 Californians under age 25 died of fentanyl poisoning – an 18-fold increase from five years ago. Fentanyl accounted for 1 in 5 deaths of California young people ages 15-24 in 2021. Fentanyl is a powerful opioid, 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.
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 by 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.
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.