Manhattan Beach Hosts Panel To Discuss Opioid Addiction

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA – The City of Manhattan Beach is partnering with South Bay Families Connected to provide an informational panel on opioid abuse. The panel will be on April 30, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Joslyn Community Center.

The Families Connected Opioid Awareness project aims to implement prevention strategies, including reducing the stigma that surrounds this issue and to increase awareness that opioid abuse and addiction can happen even in the most supportive families, and to the most loved and inspiring youth, according to the City of Manhattan Beach. The project hopes to extend compassion to families who have lost a child due to opioid abuse and/or addiction, and to let them know that they are not alone, the press release said.

Mayor Amy Howorth will present and moderate the event, in addition to City volunteer Cyndi Strand, who will share her story of losing her son to opioid addiction. The discussion will also include Moe Gelbart, PhD, who will share what is trending in the South Bay and provide prevention insight.

“We will have a fact-based, candid discussion about these drugs; what they are, how people get addicted; prevention steps you can take, and how we can help each other when the unspeakable happens," Mayor Howorth said in a statement. "You can’t change what you can’t acknowledge. And the shame of drug addiction keeps us isolated and from getting help for our loved ones or ourselves.”

If you'd like to attend, register for the event here and visit the South Bay Families Connected website for additional information. The Joslyn Community Center is located at 1601 North Valley Drive Manhattan Beach, California 90266.

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