The City of Santa Clarita held its annual Parent Resource Symposium, part of the award-winning Heroin Kills initiative, on Wednesday, September 13. The free event was open to the public and was held at The Centre, located at 20880 Centre Pointe Parkway.
The Parent Resource Symposium is hosted by the City of Santa Clarita in partnership with the County of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. The evening consists of a free resource fair for parents and their teenagers, followed by a panel discussion featuring law enforcement, medical and counseling professionals. The panel consisted of:
• Captain Robert Lewis – Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
• Dr. Darrin Privett – Emergency Medicine Attending Physician, Base Hospital EMS Director and Pediatric EDAP Director, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital
• Brenda Tumasone – Addiction Counselor, Brain Health Coach, Parent
• Sandy Logan – Prevention Coordinator, National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
The evening focused on drug laws and trends, as well as common issues affecting teenagers today. Panelists shared important information regarding the effects of drug use on the body, warning signs and symptoms to spot and resources available for parents and teens to get help for those they know are using.
Recent events related to heroin overdoses in Santa Clarita Valley have renewed the focus on the fight against drug use and abuse in the City. Medical and law enforcement personnel, as well as addiction and prevention specialists, offered the community critical life-saving resources and information needed to help end drug use in Santa Clarita.
For more information about the Annual Symposium and the Heroin Kills initiative in Santa Clarita, please visit www.HeroinKills.org.