LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — With many sharing emotional tales of how drug abuse has touched their lives, members of the Sullivan West Community Task Force gathered for the first time to start strategizing over how to help their youth avoid that risk.

Thirty-two people turned out for the October 22 meeting held in the high school library.

The formation of a task force was proposed by Scott Haberli, high school assistant principal, at the September 17 meeting of the Sullivan West Central School District (SWCSD) Board of Education.

Haberli said that he was inspired after attending a summer conference organized by Sullivan County Public Health Services and Rural Health Network, which provided an overview of Project Lazarus, a public health model that is based on the premise that every drug overdose death is preventable and that all communities are ultimately responsible for their own health.

Frustrated by parents asking what was being done about the local substance abuse problem, and not having any specific answers to give them, Haberli said, “I believe that it is vitally important that we work together to assess the risks and challenges that our youth face every day. It is my hope that we will use this information to develop and implement strategies that will address the needs of our children.”

SWCSD Superintendent Dr. Nancy Hackett expressed appreciation for the enthusiastic response demonstrated at the kick-off meeting.

“Every one of you has a resource you’re bringing here and we thank you for that. Number one, our goal is to keep kids safe. Who better to problem solve that than the people of our towns?” she asked.

Initial participants included school board members, administrators, teachers, district professional services providers, sports coaches, members of the student council and Students Against Destructive Decision (SADD) club, a self-identified mother of a recovering heroin addict, other parents, the business community, representatives of The Kingfisher Project and the Wayne County (PA) Heroin Task Force, media and an aide to Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther.

Sullivan County District Attorney James Farrell said this problem is not confined to any one area of the county, nor are any areas immune to it, and that assigning blame for it isn’t productive.

“It’s literally all over. We need to figure out how to fix it. It needs engagement from the entire community. We can’t litigate or prosecute our way out of this,” Farrell said.

Dominique Jenkins, co-owner of Matthew’s on Main restaurant in Callicoon, shared that she had lost a treasured employee to the evils of heroin, and felt compelled to step up and volunteer on the task force as a result.

“The school and law enforcement need help. I think the community needs to take action and speak to students in our own ways. The young adults need to understand the impacts of drug abuse on the community. I think they feel very isolated and confused about their identity in the world. It’s our role to help mentor and shepherd them,” she said.

Break-out groups set up in the four corners of the room to discuss education, research, resources, and communication/publicity.

Each group then reported back on their brainstorming efforts to the full membership.

“We’re taking these ideas, and we will put action plans to them at our next meeting,” Dr. Hackett said.

She and Haberli encouraged anyone with additional ideas or names of other people who should be at the table to contact Assistant Principal Haberli at 845/932-8401, ext. 1100 or haberlisco@swcsd.org before the next Sullivan West Community Task Force meeting, set for Thursday, December 3, at 6:30 p.m. in the high school library.