By Jean Hardiman
“Be a game changer.”
That is the slogan of a new statewide collaborative initiative launching in September to bring fresh awareness to the importance of prevention, education, compassionate treatment and employment opportunities when it comes to helping West Virginians overcome the opioid crisis.
The organizations behind the initiative are the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission (WVSSAC) and West Virginia Department of Education and sponsors MVB Bank, West Virginia University (WVU) and Marshall University. Together, these groups are hoping every West Virginian will play a role in changing the game, whether that is by mentoring a young person, donating funds for prevention education, supporting treatment programs or creating a scholarship to help someone in recovery get a degree and secure a good job.
The initiative will kick off with two opioid awareness summit events this fall. The first will take place on September 17 at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown and the second on September 18 at Marshall University’s Cam Henderson Center in Huntington. Among the speakers at the events will be former NBA player Chris Herren, who is in recovery from opioid addiction, and author Rhonda Sciortino, who has an inspiring story of overcoming a childhood of abuse, abandonment and poverty while growing up in a household affected by addiction.
The summit events will target the Mountain State’s 150,000 middle and high school students. Approximately 7,000 high school students will attend each summit, and the events will be live streamed for middle school students and those high school students unable to attend.
“The more education kids get about opioids, the less likely they are to use them,” says Joe Boczek of JB Business Strategies in Morgantown, who is coordinating this initiative for the WVSSAC. “We’re hoping these events bring a huge awareness to the problem we have and show we’re taking an aggressive approach. The game really starts after these summits.”
According to WVSSAC Director Bernie Dolan, West Virginia families need this initiative now more than ever. “Our students need to have the resources to avoid being a statistic in this crisis, and they need to know about the resources available if they have family or friends affected by this crisis,” he says.
The summits will kick off the Be a Game Changer campaign. The campaign’s website, www.wvgamechanger.com, when completed, will encourage both teens and all West Virginia residents to find a way to make a difference and share information with those who need help. T-shirts, stickers and other items featuring the “I’m a game changer” slogan will be sold.
The September summits will precede a leadership conference to be held later in the year that will be centered around programs in schools and communities.
“Today’s students face many social and economic challenges,” says West Virginia State Superintendent of Schools Steven Paine. “The opioid crisis has hit West Virginia especially hard, and we must take every step possible to keep students safe and healthy so they can reach their highest potential.”
Don Robinson, executive vice president and chief financial officer for MVB Bank, is a father of seven children in West Virginia schools and was part of the team that birthed the idea for this initiative. According to him, the original plan was to have a one-time event with speakers raising awareness, but it didn’t take the team long to realize this would need to be a long-term effort with multiple players.
“It’s in the news every day,” he says. “Let’s stop talking about it and start doing something.”
Robinson believes the business community, which has been tremendously affected by the crisis, can play a pivotal role in this effort. “The more we can get the business community involved, the bigger the impact it will have,” he says.
Businesses can contribute funds to the initiative’s prevention efforts, which will be focused on expressing the message to children before it’s too late. Businesses can also support recovery programs, create scholarships to help those in recovery get the education they need for a brighter future, encourage their employees to be mentors or hire those in recovery who need solid jobs in order to turn their lives around.
“Decent jobs give people the impetus to get clean and stay clean,” says Boczek. “When they don’t have good jobs, their self-esteem takes a hit, which makes it all the more tempting to turn back to old habits. Also, those who secure good jobs can spend their earnings to strengthen their local economies.”
Boczek saw the effects of addiction play out in his own family when his daughter, a former all-state basketball player, struggled with substance use disorder. She has been clean for nine years and has a good job with a living wage and benefits, which makes a world of difference in the recovery process.
“Everyone deserves to make a decent living,” he says. “They have to have a good life ahead of them that they can see. That’s why WVU and Marshall coming to the forefront of this initiative is so important.”
Both WVU President Gordon Gee and Marshall University President Jerome Gilbert attended a news conference in June to show their support for the opioid awareness summits, and both cited ongoing efforts at their universities to address needs related to substance use disorder, pointing out that prevention is critical.
Gee, who understands that young people are the future of the state, is a strong supporter of efforts like these to combat the opioid problem that is holding them back. “We have to do everything in our power to ensure they are given an opportunity to succeed,” he says.
According to Gilbert, Marshall University has been working with partners over the past several years to tackle this issue that impacts the core values of West Virginians, and he is proud to lead his university in its involvement in this effort.
“We look at this new initiative as a tremendous opportunity, and we are very happy to be a part of it,” he says.
The Be a Game Changer campaign is a multifaceted approach to prevention that offers an opportunity for all who want to change the opioid addiction game in West Virginia.
“This campaign is a call to action to be a leader,” says Robinson. “We see people already asking, ‘How do we get involved?’ Everyone is facing the same challenge. It’s been amazing to see the support. The universities and everyone involved have been phenomenal. It’s rare to have an initiative that so many people get behind so quickly.”
Be a Game Changer Events
September 17, 2019
WVU Coliseum
Morgantown
September 18, 2019
Marshall University’s Cam Henderson Center
Huntington
To register for an opioid summit, find out about the live stream or receive more information, visit www.wvgamechanger.com or contact Joe Boczek at (304) 288-5924 or joe@lkdistributing.com.
1 Comment
Wow, this is exciting and I’d like to find out more about it.