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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | September 13, 2019 04:22 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Sharif Street and Sen. Thomas H. Killion |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Resolution that Designates September 25, 2019 as “Someone You Know Day” in Pennsylvania |
| The misuse of and addiction to opioids—including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl—is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare. According to the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, there have been nearly 16,000 Emergency Room visits in Pennsylvania for opioid overdoses in the last 20 months. In 2018 Pennsylvania saw 4,413 deaths from drug overdoses, with almost half (41 percent) occurring within the 5-county region of Southeastern Pennsylvania. In an effort to help encourage and support recovery by reducing stigma, the Independence Blue Cross Foundation has created the Someone You Know (SYK) campaign. SYK is a public health and awareness campaign aimed at reducing the stigma associated with substance use disorder not only for those who struggle with opioid or other substance use disorders but also their loved ones and families and to encourage individuals and families to seek help, treatment or other supports. SYK features a traveling display with kiosks of recorded stories of SYK individuals or ambassadors who share their personal experiences about recovery, the loss of a loved one to an overdose, or supporting someone in recovery. The SYK kiosks will be featured the Main Rotunda of the Capitol on September 25 at which time Independence CEO Dan Hilferty will join Governor Wolf and others at a media event to talk about the opioid crisis. We encourage you to join us in co-sponsoring this meaningful resolution designating September 25, 2109 as "Someone You Know Day" in Pennsylvania. |
Introduced as SR229
Memo Updated: September 13, 2019 04:23 PM