Parents, doctors and educators came together in Sherwood Park on Tuesday, November 21st to discuss solutions to fentanyl use. Parents Empowering Parents (PEP) hosted the forum which focused on combatting the drug and raising awareness. PEP talk is another positive step forward in response to more tragic deaths happening across the city.
Dr. Avi Aulakh, Section Chief of Addiction of AHS North Zone was one of the panelists who spoke about fentanyl as being, “different from other opioids partially because they’re highly potent when we are comparing like morphine or heroin. It can be 50 or 100 times more potent than those opioids.” Aulakh adds that society has come to believe that people battling addictions fall into certain groups. On the contrary, he says that it’s people from across the social spectrum.
PEP programs are available for communities to access:
- Parent Support Group – including PEP meetings held weekly on Tuesdays, 7-9pm
- U-Turn for Youth – provides education and support
- MEDD-X – convicted ex-drug traffickers are given education and interaction.
Not everyone has faced the deadly consequences of fentanyl use. Tyler Pardy, who is a recovering drug addict, is getting his life back on track thanks to another organization called Clean Scene. By placing addiction in his past, Pardy is working on regaining his family’s trust on his road to recovery. When asked about his reasons for getting clean, Pardy expresses, “the biggest thing for me was my son.”
With the fentanyl crisis still at large, programs offered from different charities and organizations, like PEP, hope to provide strength and support to all those affected.
