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Health & Fitness

Orland Park Police Department Debuts Video Series- "Village of Orland Park – In Focus" Addresses Drug Use

Orland Park Police Department Debuts Video Series- "Village of Orland Park – In Focus" Addresses Drug Use

The Orland Park Police Department has taken its public education efforts to television. On Friday, August 17, the department hosted a preview of its recently produced television program series, “Village of Orland Park – In Focus,” addressing community drug concerns.

“Recent news stories have focused on the growing use of drugs and the number of fatal drug overdoses among young adults across the country,” said Orland Park Mayor Dan McLaughlin.

“Heroin use in the community has been a top priority for the Orland Park Police Department for the last several months,” the mayor said. “The Police Department’s video series is another facet of the village’s continuing efforts to battle this problem,” the mayor said.

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Moderated by Orland Park Police Deputy Chief Jerry Hughes, the series includes three panel discussions with area experts from different facets of drug use prevention.

“The Police Department brought in the experts who know firsthand what’s happening in the region,” said Trustee Carole Griffin Ruzich, chair of the village’s Public Safety Committee. “This series provides an open discussion in the fields of addiction prevention, treatment and intervention. We want families to be aware, understand the issue and have access to the support that they need,” she added.

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The first segment addresses what is actually happening in the south suburban area with participants including Orland Park Police Chief Tim McCarthy; Orland Fire Protection District Chief Ken Brucki; Dr. Mark Netzel, Emergency Room Director at Palos Community Hospital; and Dr. Silvio Morales, Emergency Room Director at Silver Cross Hospital.

“The Orland Park Police Department remains on the front lines of this battle,” said Chief Tim McCarthy. “We maintain active communication with area government groups as well as other law enforcement agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Agency,” the chief said.

Addiction prevention experts participated in the second segment, including Kathy Passafiume and Alison Boutcher, director and counselor with the Orland Township Youth and Family Counseling Services, respectively; Kathleen Burke, CEO of the Robert Crown Center for Health Education; and Mary Egan, addiction counselor and community relations coordinator with the Rosecrance Treatment Center.

Two intervention experts participated in the third and final segment, offering insight into where families turn when confronted with addiction. David Lee, interventionist and founder of Intervention Services, Inc. and Mike Loverde, president and founder of Family First Interventions appear in the third segment.

“We were able to gather some of the top people in the area to address this issue,” Hughes said. “We are grateful for their time and for the expertise that they shared in our panel discussions. This is a thought provoking series that we invite parents to watch so that they’re aware of what’s happening,” he added.

In addition to its cable television series, the Orland Park Police Department piloted a new program last spring called, “DARE Booster.” Strictly an Orland Park initiative, this program reinforces the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance in Education) program received in fifth or sixth grades to all eighth grade students in the village.

“Our DARE Booster Program brings some very direct information about drugs and an emphasis on prescription drug abuse, opiates and in particular, heroin,” McCarthy said.

“The officers also review the DARE themes of positive activities, decision making and avoiding unreasonable risks,” said Hughes, who served as the village’s first DARE officer in 1987.

“Village of Orland Park In Focus – Community Drug Concerns” will air daily at 10 a.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. on the village’s government access channels, Orland Park Comcast Channel 4 and A T & T U-Verse Channel 99, available to A T & T subscribers throughout the region. The series will also be available on the village’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/VillageofOrlandPark.

McLaughlin added, “The Village of Orland Park remains committed to battling this issue and I congratulate the Police Department for its continued public education efforts. We invite everyone to watch the television show and hear what the experts have to say.”

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