PNWU to Host Fentanyl Epidemic Townhall March 23
On Thursday, March 23, from 6:00-7:30 p.m., PNWU will welcome Yakima community members to our campus for a free townhall event focused on the fentanyl epidemic. Offering community members a chance to hear from and engage with a panel of local and state leaders and experts, the Fentanyl Epidemic Townhall aims to spread vital information, challenge stigmas associated with addiction, and inspire action and change in Yakima and beyond.
The event is being organized by Megan Tweedy, a Yakima native and community activist working to prevent death by fentanyl overdose. Like many activists, Tweedy’s connection to the cause was born of personal tragedy.
“This is a community issue and a community event,” Tweedy urged. “In 2021 in Yakima County, 98 people died by overdose, with 56 by fentanyl. Many people do not understand the scale of the problem. I certainly didn’t.”
Following the death of her brother, Jeff Meyer, on February 24, 2020, Tweedy began speaking publicly about the personal impact of the opioid epidemic, and her own role in the stigma and shame behind the disease.
Along her path of advocacy, she crossed paths with people from all corners of the fight against the fentanyl epidemic, including treatment providers, researchers, writers, politicians, judges, attorneys, law enforcement officials, family members and more. Together, they have proven instrumental in shaping her own understanding of the overdose crisis, and the loss of her brother Jeff.
With COVID restrictions, Tweedy discovered an opportunity to connect remotely with people outside of her own community. One of those people was Dr. Caleb Banta-Green, a researcher from the University of Washington’s Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute.
After witnessing Dr. Banta-Green present at the UW School of Medicine-Gonzaga University, Tweedy thought: “Why not Yakima?”
Dr. Banta-Green quickly signed on, as did recently retired Yakima County Superior Court Judge David Elofson; Yakima Detective and DEA Task Force Agent Erik Horbatko; Marc Shellenberger of Comprehensive Healthcare; and Dr. Gillian Zuckerman, a family physician from the Central Washington Family Medicine Residency Program who shares the heartbreak of having lost a loved one to the overdose crisis.
With a collection of leaders gathered and prepared to share their deep and varying perspectives, Tweedy connected with PNWU President Dr. Michael Lawler, and the two agreed to host the Fentanyl Epidemic Townhall on PNWU’s Terrace Heights campus.
“Fentanyl addiction is a public health crisis that needs our attention,” explained President Lawler. “PNWU is eager to join our community partners in addressing the Fentanyl epidemic.”
“PNWU’s students and graduates will be on the frontline of this work, in whatever field they specialize in,” Tweedy explained of her desires to host the event at the Health Sciences University. “I encourage them to further their understanding of the stigma and treatment infrastructure obstacles that impede those who want help. The impact of a compassionate, knowledgeable provider is critical to recovery.”
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“Until we all remove the mask of stigma and see that underneath, we are facing an epidemic that is killing our young, our old, regardless of race or religion, of wealth or poverty, we will continue to comfort those ravaged by loss, the mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and on and on. Those who have lost their battle lived lives of meaning. They were beautiful and flawed. They were human.”
– Megan Tweedy