Find Out Where Kids Hide Heroin

From the Will County State's Attorney's Office:

JOLIET, IL — The Heroin Epidemic Relief Organization (HERO) is hitting the road with Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow, the New Lenox Police Department, and Lincolnway Christian Church with a traveling educational program that will teach parents to spot signs their teens are using heroin or other illegal substances.

The team has joined together to fund “Hidden In Plain Sight,” which is a trailer containing an 8-foot by 16-foot model bedroom that shows parents dozens of places where a teenager might hide heroin or other dangerous narcotics. The partners will make the trailer available at community events throughout the region in their continuing efforts to educate the public about the heroin/opioid epidemic that claimed 96 lives in Will County in 2016.

HERO and its partners will unveil the “Hidden In Plain Sight” trailer at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 19 in front of the New Lenox Police Department, 200 Veterans Parkway.

The press and the public are encouraged and invited to attend.

The overall goal is to teach parents to spot the signs of heroin and opioid use, or the use of alcohol early so they can intervene and save their children’s lives, said Brian Kirk, a HERO co-founder. Kirk’s son, Matt, died of a heroin overdose in 2009. Since then, he and HERO co-founder John Roberts, whose son Billy also died of a heroin overdose in 2009, have been crusading to raise awareness about the dangers of using this highly addictive and often fatally potent narcotic.

“HERO is working through this partnership and this program to alert parents to signs that their children might be secretly struggling with a dangerous, life-threatening addiction,” Kirk said. “Many times these clues and warning signs are hidden in plain sight. The common items you see every day in your teen’s bedroom might be hiding his or her addiction.”

Glasgow has been aggressively prosecuting drug dealers for decades. But he also has worked closely over the years with prevention and treatment professionals to discourage young people from using drugs or to help them break their addictions.

“The ‘Hidden In Plain Sight” trailer is another educational tool we will make widely available throughout our community so that parents know where to look for signs of addiction,” the Glasgow said. “We can’t prosecute our way out of the heroin epidemic. Our goal is not to catch or punish teens for doing something wrong. Our goal is to help parents recognize what’s before their eyes so they can intervene at the earliest possible moment and save the lives of their sons or daughters. We don’t want anyone to experience the heartbreaking loss that Brian Kirk or John Roberts have suffered.”

HERO’s partners each contributed $2,500 to purchase and outfit the trailer as a traveling model bedroom. State’s Attorney Glasgow and the New Lenox Police Department both contributed money they seized from criminals who were engaged in the sale of illegal narcotics in Will County.

After Wednesday’s unveiling, the “Hidden In Plain Sight” trailer will travel to its first public event, the HERO HELPS Southwest Coalition Community Summit on the Heroin/Opioid Epidemic. The summit is scheduled from 7:30-11:30 a.m. on Friday, April 21 at the Edward Hospital Athletic & Event Center in Romeoville.

For information on reserving the trailer for a community event or meeting, call 708-557-8394 or go to HERO’s Web page,www.theherofoundation.org. HERO’s Facebook page is BeAHeroToo.

image via Patch archive