MEDIA ADVISORY - Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington and St. Bernadette Parish Host Public Awareness Session on National and Local Opioid Crisis

Offer Resources and Practical Ways to Address the Crisis in our Communities and Homes

ARLINGTON, Va. - On Wednesday, November 6, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington will host its fourth session on the growing opioid crisis. The session is open to the public and will take place at St. Bernadette Parish in Springfield, Va. It is part of Catholic Charities' broad strategy to help equip parishes and the larger community with information and resources to address and cope with the issue locally.

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge charged Catholic Charities with mounting a multifaceted approach to address the epidemic. As a result, Catholic Charities began offering these quarterly sessions, encouraging parishes to host educational and support meetings, providing treatment resources, and highlighting and expanding the availability of parish-based Catholic Charities' counselors. Previous sessions have included mental and medical health professionals, addiction specialists and counselors.  

Speakers at this session include Nancy McCann Vericker, author, spiritual director and youth minister, to discuss “Our Family's Addiction Mess is our Message”; Mark McHugh, specialist with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, to discuss “Providing Local Opioid Facts, Stats, and Legal Strategies to Address the Epidemic”; and Susan Infeld, St. John Neumann Recovery and Addiction Ministry, to discuss “St. John Neumann Recovery and Addiction Ministry: 6 Months Down the Road.”

WHAT:          We Care Here: Facing the Opioid Facts Together

WHO:             Anyone interested in learning more about or directly affected by the opioid crisis                     

WHEN:          Wednesday, November 6, 2019

                        6:30 p.m. Community Dinner and Resource Fair

                        7:30-9 p.m. Guest Speakers  

WHERE:       St. Bernadette Catholic Church, 7600 Old Keene Mill Road, Springfield, VA 22152                      

RSVP:            Required at HopeNotOpioids@ccda.net.

For additional information, contact Amber Roseboom, Director of Media Relations, Catholic Diocese of Arlington, at 571-215-8731 or Amber.Roseboom@arlingtondiocese.org.

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Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington serves the poor and vulnerable who live within the 21 counties and seven cities of the Diocese of Arlington, which is led by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge. Catholic Charities provides food for the hungry, a free medical clinic for adults including prenatal care, adoption services, transformational housing for the homeless, mental health counseling, emergency financial assistance, prison ministry, workforce development and immigration and refugee services. Catholic Charities serves all, regardless of faith.www.ccda.net.