Eureka, CA – Last November, Senator Mike McGuire and Humboldt County Supervisor Virginia Bass brought the community together for a collaborative conversation about the opioid crisis at home and across the state to kick off the discussion that would advance potential solutions on the North Coast.

The opioid crisis has hit California hard, and in Humboldt County the impact is even more devastating — the county has the second highest rate of opioid overdoses in the state per capita.

“When we last met in November, neighbors, community and healthcare leaders advanced their concerns and initial solutions related to the opioid crisis,” Senator McGuire said. “Now, as promised, Supervisor Bass and I are bringing local and statewide leaders back together to hear about the progress that is being made with this ongoing crisis and update the community on the issues they advanced last fall.”

Senator McGuire and Supervisor Bass will be hosting statewide experts, health professionals, local leaders and addiction specialists at the community-wide meeting and both Humboldt County and the City of Eureka will discuss strategies being implemented at the local level with progress reports from North Coast treatment providers including Open Door Community Health Center, Aegis Treatment and Waterfront Recovery Center. We will also hear about harm reduction efforts including needle exchange and syringe management programs being implemented at the county and city level as well as receiving a report from the California Department of AIDS on statewide efforts in harm reduction.

“Our community is working hard to address the opioid epidemic at every level, and I am grateful to be working with Senator McGuire to bring the community back together to discuss the progress that’s being made and the hurdles we all still have to overcome,” Supervisor Bass said.

Town Hall details:

WHAT: Town Hall on the Opioid Crisis on the North Coast: Coming back together for solutions

WHEN: Thursday, March 29, 2018 at 6:30 pm

WHERE: Sequoia Conference Center, located at the Humboldt County Office of Education, 901 Myrtle Avenue

WATCH LIVE: The Town Hall will be livestreamed at http://sd02.senate.ca.gov 

According to state statistics: The opioid overdose rate for the state in 2016 was 4.6 per 100,000 residents. The Humboldt County rate was nearly five times higher at 22.35 per 100,000.

More information, including a list of panelists will be released next week.

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