Earlier today, Sheriff Maciol was honored to join Oneida…

Earlier today, Sheriff Maciol was honored to join Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente and Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara as the Oneida County Opioid Task Force recognized International Overdose Awareness Day with an event focusing on the stigma surrounding addiction that featured a nationally-recognized expert and a special video that included the perspectives of a local parent who lost a child to overdose and a person with addiction.

As we continue to lose lives to overdose at alarming rates across the country, it’s incumbent upon us to take a deeper look at how shame and stigma may unknowingly contribute to more overdose deaths in our community.

It’s evident that we have many dedicated people in our community working hard to help people with addictions, but all of us— community leaders, first responders, treatment providers, media, families and the general public— can do more to see the humanity in people with addictions by learning how we can root stigma out of our words, policies and practices so we can more effectively help the people who need us.

If you’d like to watch today’s event that featured Shatterproof Founder & CEO Gary Mendel, click here:

To view the Task Force’s special video presentation click here: https://youtu.be/gIZY7EeRim4

For the press release on today’s event, click here: https://www.ocgov.net/content/oneida-county-puts-stigma-spotlight-overdose-awareness-day