{"id":6986,"date":"2013-05-06T09:17:15","date_gmt":"2013-05-06T13:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=6986"},"modified":"2013-05-06T09:47:50","modified_gmt":"2013-05-06T13:47:50","slug":"raising-awareness-about-regional-heroin-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=6986","title":{"rendered":"Raising awareness about regional heroin abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brainstorming session attracts government officials, concerned citizens<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h1>\n
\n

By Kathleen Brady Shea<\/strong><\/span>,\u00a0Managing Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/a>

Andy Rumford (center) discusses the heroin problem with New Garden Township Police Chief Gerald Simpson (left) and Kennett Square Police Chief Edward A. Zunino.<\/p><\/div>\n

Think your child is too smart, athletic, or well-adjusted to become addicted to heroin? That\u2019s a dangerously inaccurate view, said participants in a forum on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Organized by Andy Rumford, a Kennett Square resident whose 23-year-old daughter, Kacie Erin Rumford, died of a heroin overdose in March, the brainstorming session at the Longwood Fire Company drew nearly 100 participants. They ranged from a lawmaker to law-enforcement officials, from grieving parents to recovering addicts, from mayors to social workers.<\/p>\n

Rumford said he wanted to bring people with different vantage points together in hopes of raising awareness and exploring solutions to combatting a disease that continues to spread, transforming its victims into liars, manipulators and thieves. \u201cWe have an opportunity to effect change,\u201d Rumford said. \u201cNo parent should ever have to write their child\u2019s obituary.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more than an hour and a half, participants stressed the need to recognize the scope of the problem and learn the warning signs, which can include a change in sleep patterns, a lack of appetite, euphoria and inattention at school or work.<\/p>\n

Magisterial District Judge Daniel J. Maisano said truancy can often signal a dependency problem, and Magisterial District Judge Matthew Seavey said he recommends the programs of the Chester County Council on Addictive Diseases (COAD) whenever he deals with underage drinking.<\/p>\n

District Attorney Tom Hogan, who received applause for a recent bust of heroin dealers, vowed that his office will continue its fight, but he urged parents to be vigilant. Hogan suggested periodic checks of children\u2019s computers and cellphones. \u201cThere are no boundaries with your children,\u201d he said. \u201cViolate their privacy and protect them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kennett Square Police Chief Edward A. Zunino said the battle has been waged for many years and will continue. Asked by a parent what the public can do to help, Zunino said, \u201cIf you see something, say something. Too often we hear, \u2018We don\u2019t want to bother you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Kennett Consolidated School District Superintendent Barry Tomasetti pledged the support of the school district. \u201cIt\u2019s a worry as a father,\u201d he said, \u201cit\u2019s a worry as a superintendent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Chris Ross, who expressed concern that government is not doing enough to solve the problem, urged some of the recovering addicts who spoke to take their stories to church and school groups. \u201cKids sometimes tune out adults,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But one former addict, who credits Narcotics Anonymous with saving his life, questioned the effectiveness of anti-drug campaigns. \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s still treated as a moral deficiency,\u201d he said of addiction. \u201cI don\u2019t think it can be prevented.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rumford said some of his daughter\u2019s drug-dependent friends cried with him at her funeral. \u201cThey\u2019re still using,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Luis Tovar, an East Marlborough Township resident and member of the Kacies Cause team, \u00a0facilitated the discussion. Tovar, who nearly lost a daughter to heroin, said he was talking about drug abuse with his barber, who noted that many \u201cparents are clueless,\u201d describing one mother who dropped her son off for a haircut and \u201che\u2019s higher than a kite.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many speakers suggested that knowing the warning signs can facilitate intervention. Toward that end, Rumford has distributed fliers in hundreds of local businesses and will continue to do so. He said he also plans to continue the town-hall gatherings and is looking for other venues. He said he would compile a synopsis of Saturday\u2019s event, including recommended programs, and email it to participants.<\/p>\n

For more information, visit\u00a0www.kaciescause.com<\/a>. Additional information can be obtained by contacting Rumford \u00a0at\u00a0lo**************<\/span>@***<\/span>oo.com<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brainstorming session attracts government officials, concerned citizens By Kathleen Brady Shea,\u00a0Managing Editor, The Times Think your child is too smart, athletic, or well-adjusted to become addicted to heroin? That\u2019s a dangerously inaccurate view, said participants in a forum on Saturday. Organized by Andy Rumford, a Kennett Square resident whose 23-year-old daughter, Kacie Erin Rumford, died […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[2265,2379,791,2264,2380,1683,1081,2381,1130],"class_list":["post-6986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-andy-rumford","tag-chester-county-council-on-addictive-diseases-coad","tag-district-attorney-tom-hogan","tag-kacie-erin-rumford","tag-kennett-consolidated-school-district-superintendent-barry-tomasetti","tag-kennett-square-police-chief-edward-a-zunino","tag-magisterial-district-judge-daniel-j-maisano","tag-magisterial-district-judge-matthew-seavey","tag-rep-chris-ross"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}