CLEVELAND, Ohio — More than 550 religious leaders of many faiths will bring the problem of heroin to their Northeast Ohio congregations on Saturday and Sunday.
They have all agreed to devote their sermons to raising awareness about the heroin epidemic gripping the area, with the goals of destigmatizing addiction, pointing congregation members to resources for help and giving them a simple step they can take immediately to fight prescription drug use close to home: They will encourage members to turn in any unused prescription medications as part of the National Drug Take Back sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration.
Many area police departments will be open as collection spots for unused meds from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the 13th National Drug Take Back on Saturday, April 29. (For more information or locations, call 800-882-9539.)Clergy and community members led by the Rev. Bob Stec, pastor of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Brunswick, launched the nonprofit, nondenominational website GreaterThanHeroin.com last August to coordinate efforts like this weekend’s sermons and to connect Northeast Ohioans with resources to overcome heroin use.
The mission is personal for Stec. Over a three-week period a year ago, he conducted the funerals of six people connected with his parish who had overdosed on heroin.
“There’s no one type when it comes who’s falling victim,” he said. “It affects everyone from the father of four to the clean-cut teenager.
“We saw an opportunity to start a grassroots effort to get people talking about heroin use. Church is probably the last place people might expect to hear about heroin, but it shouldn’t be. The more we talk about it with one another — whether at church, in the workplace or wherever else people gather — the more we’ll be able to help people get the treatment they need.”
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.cleveland.com/religion/index.ssf/2017/04/northeast_ohio_clergy_devoting.html#incart_river_home
