It was an honor sharing our story, our love for Matt, and our hope for all those struggling with addiction.
This is a very challenging thing to talk about but I know it’s also very important his story is told as it resonates with so many. We are losing our empaths, our feelers, and it has to stop.
Thank you for hosting me #all4knox, and thank you for coming together, and setting an example that I can reference in the other states we work in for addressing this crisis.
At this conference I’ve learned that through it’s initiatives, the state of TN has given out 50,000 units of NARCAN, in comparison to our statewide program, which has dispersed 3,700. I know we can get there.
Every officer in TN is equipped, trained and utilizing NARCAN to save lives everyday, while we’ve had departments put on our waitlists, depending on a small grassroots nonprofit, as they struggled or could not figure out how to get it through the state. But, I know we can get there.
They also have government supported harm reduction organizations offering needle exchange, free naloxone, and other harm reduction materials widely available to the public. In TN, harm reduction and nonprofits like ours have a seat at the table. I’ve seen coordination work beautifully here in TN and again, I know we can get there.
There is a lot of work to do, but I’m glad we’ve made some great connections for guidance. We will be applying for grants, working to get as many departments equipped, and trying to connect with our state officials because now, we need to figure out HOW we can get there.
Thank you everyone at #All4Knox for caring so much about those affected and their loved ones.