(COLUMBUS, Ohio) -- More than 150 people representing nearly 40 school districts attended a special summit held today by the Alliance for High Quality Education, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, and Ohio Governor John Kasich.
The "Protecting Ohio's Families: Start Talking!" Heroin Summit, which was held for member districts of the Alliance for High Quality Education, addressed the risk of heroin and prescription drug addiction in Ohio's schools.
The goal of the summit was to educate school district leaders about the scope of the heroin epidemic, how to engage communities in the fight against drug abuse, and best practices for prevention.
"There are people in every community in this state who are struggling with addiction, some who became hooked while in high school," said Attorney General DeWine. "Those who attended today's summit know that their school districts are not immune to the problem of addiction, and they came out today to proactively work to prevent abuse and addiction among their students."
The conference included testimonials from Danielle Smoot and Heidi Riggs, Community Outreach Specialists for the Attorney General's Office, who also both lost a child to a drug overdose. Smoot founded Cole's Warriors in memory of her son, Cole Smoot, 16, who died after taking a prescription pill given to him by a friend in 2011. Riggs' daughter Marin, 20, died of a heroin overdose in 2012 and is the focus of the video produced by the Attorney General's Office entitled "Marin's Story: The Battle Against Heroin" which, since its publication last week, has been viewed more than 30,000 times.
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Media Contacts:
Lisa Hackley: 614-466-3840
Jill Del Greco: 614-466-3840