REACH Quarterly Newsletter-April 2023

The Dangers of Fentanyl

By: Gracie Gray

Headlines about counterfeit pills and fentanyl overdoses continue to escalate in the news, but what exactly is fentanyl and how do we keep our children safe?

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid used by medical professionals to treat severe pain. It is 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin. As little as 2mg of fentanyl can cause a fatal overdose, as displayed on the tip of the pencil. It is a major contributor to the recent surplus of overdoses occurring in the United States

The majority of fentanyl-related overdoses are caused by illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF). In the illegal drug trade, IMF is often combined with other substances to produce a more cost-effective, potent, and addictive product. Commonly, fentanyl is combined with other substances and pressed into a pill resembling other well-known pharmaceuticals such as Adderall, Xanax, Percocet, oxycodone, as well as others These counterfeit pills include the same markings as legitimate pills, making users unable to distinguish between what is counterfeit and what is real. The DEA estimates that 6 out of every 10 pills sold on the street contain a fatal amount of fentanyl.

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The Dangers of Fentanyl

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, fatal overdoses have increased by 500% since 2019 If someone is experiencing any of the following symptoms, call 911 immediately, as they may be experiencing an overdose.

· Small, pinpoint pupils

· Slow or absent breathing

· Cold, pale, or clammy skin

· Vomiting, choking, or gurgling noises

· Blue lips or nails

· Unable to speak or be woken up

Naloxone is a medication used to temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. It can now be purchased at any pharmacy in Texas without a prescription. Having naloxone readily available could be the difference between life and death for someone experiencing an overdose. Naloxone comes in the form of a nasal spray and an injectable pen.

There are a few steps that parents can take to increase their children’s safety Talk to your children about the dangers of taking medication that is not prescribed to them and practice the safe storage of medication in your home by locking up and keeping medications out of reach.

REACH Council’s own Shari Phillips has been working hand-in-hand with an organization called Drew’s 27 Chains to spread awareness about the fentanyl crisis, as well as offer naloxone trainings for local authorities in Ellis and Johnson counties. Thus far, they have completed trainings with the Ellis County constables, Waxahachie PD, and the Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce. There is an upcoming community training taking place in Venus, with the help of Venus PD

For more information on upcoming trainings, additional resources, or how to get naloxone, please contact Shari Phillips at Shari.Phillips@reachcouncil.org.

Board Member Spotlight

REACH Council Board Chair, Janis Burdett

Janis Burdett has served on the REACH Council Board of Directors since 2013 and is currently the Board Chair. She grew up in Grand Prairie, TX then moved to Midlothian in 1996 with her husband, Bill and two children Rachel and Chris to take on a new job with Ellis County Juvenile Services as a probation officer. Janis spent most of her career in the juvenile justice field and retired from Ellis County Juvenile Services as the Program Director in 2013. She has been working part time back at the Probation Department since 2016 helping with programs and community resources and is currently the Chair of the Ellis County Community Resource Coordination Group (CRCG). She has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from University of Texas – Arlington and a master’s degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Corrections from Purdue Global University. She began her career working for Dallas County Juvenile Probation as a Detention Officer at the Juvenile Detention Center, a Childcare Worker at Letot Center, a Specialized Officer in a Truancy Diversion Program, a Court Investigations Officer, and Director of the Volunteer Program.

She took some time off to raise a family, then returned to her career working for Ellis County Juvenile Services in 1996. While working with Juvenile Offenders, Janis became increasingly concerned about the increase in mental health disorders in the probation population and lack of programs addressing those needs. She has served on several community boards and committees advocating for increased mental health services in Ellis County. She currently serves as the Board Chair on the Board of Directors for the North Texas Behavioral Health Authority (NTBHA) NTBHA is the Local Behavioral Health Authority (LBHA) for a six-county region including Dallas, Hunt, Rockwall, Kaufman, Navarro, and Ellis Counties NTBHA oversees all state and federally funded public behavioral health and substance abuse treatment services throughout the region and includes crisis services, residential and outpatient treatment programs. Apart from advocating for mental health and substance abuse services in Ellis County, Janis spends most of her time spoiling her two grandsons, Riley and Reid, who live close by. She is an active member of First Baptist Church-Midlothian. She and her husband enjoy traveling and since COVID they have travelled the entire state of Texas visiting and photographing each of the 254 County Courthouses In May, they will have completed visiting all 254 Counties

Youth Prevention Education

Our YP team is wrapping up curriculum for our various campuses that we served during the Spring 2023 semester. We facilitated LST (LifeSkills Training) at Keene Junior High, as well as Red Oak Middle School. TGFD (Too Good for Drugs) was taught at Italy High School, Nichols Middle School, Loflin Middle School, and Walnut Grove Middle School. Kids Connection was facilitated at Alvarado South Elementary, Miller Elementary, Frazier Elementary, Coleman Elementary, Longbranch Elementary, J.A. Vitovsky Elementary, Baxter Elementary, Lillian Elementary, Austin Elementary, Bowie Elementary, and Schupmann Elementary

We have had a great semester and have enjoyed working with these students and campuses!

As we finish up the curriculum, we are preparing for our annual summer camp that will take place in June. This year we are expecting to have a great turn out for our dinosaur-themed REACH Explorers Camp! We are so excited to be able to bring back an action-packed camp with a variety of games, activities, outside presenters, and education!

Staff members Heidi (left) and Ashley P. (right) celebrated "Dress Like a Twin Day" at Red Oak Middle School.

Youth Recovery Communities

YRC April Groups

Our support group focused on recognizing and coping with anger Anger is a normal emotion, however sometimes it can affect us too strongly, causing a negative impact on our life.

Some signs you may be too affected by anger are:

-when your emotions turn into violence or aggression

-it affects your relationships

-it occurs frequently and intensely

-you seem to get angry over things that seem not to affect others

The coping skills we discussed were:

explore healthy coping/emotional regulation techniques take time to react appropriately communicate effectively take a step away from the situation that is causing frustration

YRC celebrated Easter this year by inviting YRC participants and their families to a lunch, outdoor fun and games, as well as an Easter egg hunt!

Staff members Wendy (left) and Emma (right) set up a YRC info table at the Ennis Youth Rally on Saturday, April 22nd.

Coalition & Community

General Barrye L Price, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), presented REACH Across Johnson County Coalition members with a CADCA Coalition Academy Graduation Award

The Ellis County Prom Pop-Up event was held at the Waxahachie Civic Center on Monday, February 27th, and Tuesday, February 28th with 190 students participating to receive engaging information and education for youth to build skills and encourage a safe and sober prom for all, and shop for free prom attire.

On February 16th, REACH Council and Callie Crow, of Drew’s 27 Chains, provided Fentanyl/Naloxone training to Ellis County Constables.

Staff members Ashley V. (pictured left Erica (pictured right) attended the Bur Area Chamber Business Over Breakfas where they shared information on the upcoming Johnson County Prom Pop-U event (attire giveaway) and announced date for the upcoming 2nd annual Rise: Mental Health Conference

Coalition & Community

MARCH

REACH Across Johnson County participated in the Centennial High School Project Celebration Golf Tournament in Burleson Saturday, March 4th.

The Johnson County Prom Pop Up event was held at First Baptist Burleson on Friday, March 24th and Saturday, March 25th with 99 students participating to receive engaging information and education for youth, to build skills and encourage a safe and sober prom for all, and to shop for free prom attire.

Staff members Nikki, Erica, and Shari, along with other community partners, celebrated International Women’s Day, Wednesday, March 8th, at the Women’s Day Event Luncheon held at the First Baptist Church in Burleson. The amazing guest speaker, Karen “KJ” Johnson, was very empowering!

Coalition & Community

Special deliveries were made to Johnson County law enforcement agencies this month with each officer receiving a “Your Mental Health Matters” box that contains items to help officers relieve some of the stress that comes with the job of b i i l f t

Cleburne PD Alvarado PD

Coalition & Community

REACH Council, in partnership with Drew’s 27 Chains, provided four days of Fentanyl/Naloxone training for the Waxahachie Police Department.

REACH staff members (from left to right)

Shari, Emma, and Brenna participated in the Ellis County Resource Expo on Thursday, April 20th at the Midlothian Conference Center where they had 109 participants visit the booth to receive information on our REACH programs, safe storage & disposal, and the upcoming community Fentanyl Awareness & Naloxone training

The DEA Prescription Drug Take Back event was held Saturday, April 22nd REACH Council collaborated with local law enforcement agencies across Ellis & Johnson Counties to promote the safe disposal method REACH staff members Shari (right) & Cassie (left) worked the central Ellis County location with Jerry McClemore (center) from the Waxahachie Police Department at the Coleman Jr. High Parking Lot from 10 am to 2 pm collecting 17 boxes weighing 469 lbs.

JoCo Radio

Dana M. Litt, Ph.D. of UNTHSC STARR Lab joined the ladies to discuss tips on communicating with your teen about social media use, substance misuse and other risk behaviors, and their upcoming Project PRISM

Amber Hill and Angela Christine from Mind Above Matter shared information on emotional support listening

Nicole Holt of Texans for Safe and Drug-Free Youth discussed how we can advocate to protect our youth on a statewide level, and shared some disappointing results from a recent study done on how the Alcohol-To-Go option across the state was going.

REACH Podcast

Tune in to "REACHing Out With REACH" at https://reachcouncil.podbean.com/ where we will discuss news and topics about things that matter most to us and reflect our mission to "support safe and healthy choices vital to the well-being of our youth, families and community"

Join our staff as they uncover tips on prevention and recovery, and create fun conversations focused on their passions and interests in the prevention and recovery fields.

Make sure you follow us on our social media platforms and subscribe to our podcast streams.

You can tune in via - Google podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn + Alexa, IHeartRadio, PlayerFM, and Samsung.

Arts & Crafts

GATHER

egg carton

scissors

hole punch

string glue

birdseed

Cut off top of egg carton and cut out a four-cup section.

Punch holes in each corner.

Cut two pieces of string, each 12 inches long.

Thread the first string through the opposite corners.

Tie knots at both ends.

Thread and tie second string so the strings crisscross. Add glue to each knot.

Fill egg cups with birdseed and hang outdoors.

Photo (c) FOTF/Jenny Dillon

Arts & Crafts

CHERRY BLOSSOM ART FROM A RECYCLED SODA BOTTLE

Materials needed:

2 liter soda bottle

paint (black and pink, or the colors of your choosing)

paper plate

paint brush

poster board

If you would like more detailed instructions, click this link: https://alphamom.com/family-fun/holidays/cherry-blossom-art-from-a-recycledsoda-bottle/

Arts & Crafts

PRINT THIS PAGE AND COLOR THE PICTURE!

Fundraising & Sponsors

Thank you to WhatchamaCallit for donating their beautiful dresses to our Prom Pop Up events

Thank you to First Baptist Burleson for donating event space and other resources to ensure our Johnson County event ran smoothly, and to the Waxahachie Civic Center for donating dressing room space for our Ellis County event.

Thank you also to the following sponsors for donating items for the Johnson County Prom Pop Up event: Old Towne Cleaners, The Brick, Elizabeth Scott Bridal, Jameye Jones with Avon, Serendipity Salon, VKP Salon, Danielle Elston Stylist, Blossoms on Boulevard, Shelby Battaglia with Golden Hour Hair Studio, and Cancun Tan.

Thank you to Brookshire's in Midlothian for their donation to our YRC program

If you would like to donate to help improve our programs, you can find us on Venmo or PayPal!

Venmo: Reach-Midlothian

PayPal: Tasha.Taylor@reachcouncil.org

If you have any questions, or would like additional information, contact Tina.McClaren@reachcouncil.org

Contact Us

Physical address: 208 S. 4th St., Midlothian, TX 76065

Mailing address: P.O. Box 598, Midlothian, TX 76065

Email: Info@ReachCouncil.org

Phone number: 972-723-1053

Follow Us on Social Media

REACH: @reach.council

YRC: @YRC.Reach

RAJC: @reachacrossjohnsoncounty

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YRC: @yrc.reach

RAJC: @reachacrossjohnsoncounty

REACH: @REACHCouncil