County Exec. Announces Heroin Education Forum

To help parents identify early warning signs of drug use in their children and learn about prevention and treatment measures, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy will be hosting a HELP (Heroin Education Leads to Prevention) forum on Tuesday, April 20.

The program, scheduled for 7 p.m. at East Islip High School, will be the first in a series of regional forums designed to raise awareness of the heroin problem within suburban communities.

"The scourge of heroin must be addressed from three sides: education, treatment and law enforcement," Levy said in a statement. "Our HELP forums are one component in my comprehensive 10-point plan to address this growing problem."

The HELP forum will bring parents together with health and police officials to learn about treatment and support measures, prevention strategies and law enforcement efforts. Parents will also be able to obtain drug-test kits.

As part of the program, Suffolk has produced a HELP resource guide containing information on how to recognize signs of drug use in children, what treatment and support options are available and how and when to contact law enforcement. 

In December, Levy unveiled a comprehensive HELP plan which includes:

• Creation of a new heroin/opiate task force within the police department, which has already produced a 120 percent increase in heroin arrests in 2010 compared to the same period in 2009;
• Enhanced cooperation with the federal law enforcement agencies and neighboring police jurisdictions;
• Expansion of the PoliceSmart program in schools to include a segment on heroin use;
• Creation of the Prevention Resource Center (PRC) at South Oaks Hospital in cooperation with New York State, to serve as an online forum to promote prevention and evidence based treatment;
• Establishing a pre-recovery narcotics support group, known as "Clean Connections," for adolescents who are exploring the possibility of entering treatment.