Sadly, substance use disorder permeates every aspect of society today. It’s not just heroin addicts overdosing in the park; it’s also the grandchild who swipes his cancer-stricken grandmother’s pain pills. It’s the suburban mom who keeps getting her prescription refilled, even though the only pain she feels is emotional. It’s the auto worker who sips from a flask during lunch and the attorney who seeks a cocaine bump between trials. Substance use disorder affects all professions, all demographic groups, all ages. Our neighbors, our spouses, our children — our entire community is feeling the impact of this ongoing epidemic.

Visiting Nurse, a community-based non-profit palliative care and hospice organization, is partnering with Allen County Health Commissioner Dr. Deborah McMahan, Captain Kevin Hunter of the Fort Wayne Police Department’s Vice and Narcotics division and other regional experts in a new speaker series beginning Nov. 8 at 5:30 p.m. at the Peggy F. Murphy Community Grief Center, 5920 Homestead Road on the Visiting Nurse campus. At this first event, Dr. McMahan will address the depth of the substance use disorder epidemic in our community. She will be joined by grief experts Dar Richardson and David Wust, who will discuss the grief family members feel when their loved one dies from substance use and addiction.

Further events will take place early in 2019, with topics including “Signs of Substance Use Disorder in Children and Family Members,” “Impact of Opioid Epidemic on Healthcare” and “Sharing My Healing Pathway,” which will focus on how users can get help for their disorder. Dates for these events are pending.