Judge/Executive Steve Pendery Shares How NKY is Fighting Drug Addiction
The Kentucky Association of Counties hosted its Opioid Solutions Network meeting in Northern Kentucky. The first day was held at the Hilton Cincinnati Hotel in Florence, and the second day took place at the Life Learning Center in Covington and the Northern Kentucky Area Development District office in Florence. More than 20 counties sent leaders to take part. Counties as far away as Graves County in western Kentucky and Breathitt County in eastern Kentucky traveled to join Northern Kentucky leaders and share ideas.
The Northern Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy lead the effort and moderated the panel discussions.
While Campbell County was proud to be one of the counties asked to present, the message to visitors was clear: this was a regional success story, not a Campbell County story alone. All three Northern Kentucky judges/executives took the stage together for a panel about cross-county teamwork. Judge/Executive Steve Pendery from Campbell County, Judge/Executive Gary Moore from Boone County, and Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann from Kenton County talked about how the three counties joined forces in 2015 to create the Northern Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy. That office has since grown into one of the most respected addiction response programs in the state, with shared tools like a regional helpline.
Campbell County also helped tell the front-line story. Campbell County Police Chief Craig Sorrell and Campbell County Police Social Worker Supervisor Laurie Wilson spoke on a panel about real-world experiences from law enforcement and social work. They shared how the Campbell County Police Department teams up with full-time social workers to help people who struggle with addiction. Their work focuses on connecting people to treatment programs instead of only sending them to jail.
Northern Kentucky is setting the example for the rest of the state. Our region has built strong partnerships between law enforcement, health departments, and community groups, and those partnerships are now being studied and copied by other counties across Kentucky. Campbell County's approach of placing social workers right inside the police department is one of the ideas getting attention from leaders in other parts of the state.
Campbell County will keep working with our regional and state partners to help families affected by addiction. The goal is simple: connect people with the help they need and make Campbell County a safer, healthier place for everyone who lives and works here.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
