Biloxi town hall meeting to discuss opioids

A town hall meeting took place at the Biloxi Community Center about the increase in opioid addictions.

One hundred and fifteen people die each day in the United States from opioids. This statistic is one of many reasons the Stand Up Mississippi organization held a town hall meeting in Biloxi. Stand Up Mississippi Outreach Coordinator Angela Mallette said, “We are here to talk about the resources that we have to get people into treatment to get them help, whether it’s family members or someone who needs help themselves.”

Several Mississippi agencies like the Department of Mental Health, the Mississippi offices of the FBI and the board of pharmacy attended the meeting to educate the community. Steve Parker with the Mississippi Board of Pharmacy said, “People are dying every day. Families are being torn apart. We are trying to make sure that we have the knowledge out there of the dangers.”

In 2016, there were over 67,000 deaths in the United States due to overdose. Biloxi Police Chief John Miller tells News 25 opioids do not affect just Mississippi, but the United States as a whole. “Prescription medications have just blossomed. It’s almost the drug of choice seems like. We see more of that on the street than we do crack-cocaine now.”

Meetings like this are the first step in the right direction for Mississippi. Mallette was addicted to painkillers herself until she reached out for help. She knows bringing awareness to opioids can lead to saving a person’s life. “I was able to change and I want anyone out there to believe they have a chance, too.”

Parker said, “It can happen to all of us. We just have to make sure that we educate from our children to our elderly to make sure that our folks are aware.”