Officials: Community is key in finding solution to drug epidemic
Monessen Police Chief James Smith discussed what he has seen in the opioid epidemic, Wednesday, at North Belle Vernon Community Bank Park in North Belle Vernon. Smith emphasized the importance of the community having an active role in fighting drug abuse because a “police department is only as good as the community it serves.”
Law enforcement officials and firefighters brought their vehicles to be a focal point of discussion with community members at an opioid epidemic awareness event Wednesday at North Belle Vernon Community Bank Park in North Belle Vernon.
State Rep. Justin Walsh, R-Rostraver Township, said community members need to support one another and law enforcement in the fight to end the opioid epidemic that affects so many across the state.
State Rep. Bud Cook, R-Coal Center, spoke about the importance of education in putting an end to drug abuse, Wednesday, at North Belle Vernon Community Bank Park in North Belle Vernon.
When area political leaders came to discuss anti-drug initiatives with community members at a Westmoreland County park this week, they took off their campaign hats.
“This is a problem that won’t be solved in D.C.,” state Rep. Bud Cook, R-Coal Center, said. “It will be solved right here in the community.”
The Coal Center Republican was among several public officials who came to North Belle Vernon Community Bank Park, Wednesday, hoping to start the process of building meaningful community bonds in an effort to address the opioid epidemic.
“It needs to be a team effort,” said state Rep. Justin Walsh, R-Rostraver Township. “It needs to be a community effort, and we need to support our law enforcement.”
North Belle Vernon Councilman Robert “R.J.” Sokol was one of the lead organizers of the event. He said he scheduled it for the day after the primary election to remove politics, and emphasize community.
State Rep. Ryan Warner, whose district includes part of Westmoreland and Fayette counties, said there are no boundaries for addiction.
“This is an issue that doesn’t care what your political affiliation is,” said Warner, R-Perryopolis. “It doesn’t care whether you’re rich or poor, from Westmoreland County or from Fayette County. We are all spread thin because of the drug epidemic. It puts strain on EMS personnel and others.”
Monessen Police Chief James Smith said it’s the members of a community who have to band together, and come to police when they see something wrong.
“Your police department is only as good as the community it serves,” he said.
Yet, he said, locking up criminals isn’t a magic fix for the opioid epidemic.
“We cannot arrest our way out of this problem,” Smith said. “You need education. You need more education. You need prevention. And you need treatment.”
Smith said almost daily he has to notify parents that their child has overdosed, or tell a 10- or 11-year-old that his or her parent isn’t coming home.
“Grandparents are raising grandchildren,” said Cook, who represents portions of Washington and Fayette counties. “We have lost an entire generation (to drugs).”
He emphasized that people need to pull together, making an acronym out of the word team. “Together, Everyone Achieves More,” he said.
Sokol said that he’s interested in hosting future gatherings to continue bringing people across the region together. He urged those who came Wednesday to continue or begin working with police and one another.
“If you see something wrong and you look away, you’re part of the problem,” Sokol said. “If you say something, you’re part of the solution.”