2018 Alaska Prevention Summit: 'This is where it all starts

PALMER— The 2018 Alaska Prevention Summit at the Glenn Massay Theater, Tuesday, Aug. 7 brought in many people from across the state and even drew in the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams, coming together to usher in a new chapter of treatment and most importantly, prevention for substance abuse.

“It was an honor and a privilege to have the U.S. Surgeon General speak at the Prevention Summit. Dr. Adams was such a humble man. And, he was so inspiring. He gave us a much needed shot in the arm- no pun intended,” Mat-Su Opioid Task Force founder and vice chairman for MyHouse, Michael Carson said.

There were several panel discussions with a real who’s who of important, local figures on the forefront, “fighting the good fight.” According to Carson, there was a lot going on not just on the stage but behind the scenes. He helped organize this event and while still trying catch each speaker, he busily scurried around backstage where several members of the media were covering news while others some were filming a documentary.

Founder and executive director of MyHouse, Michelle Overstreet has been excited for this event for a long time. The emcee made a special shout out to Overstreet as she sat in the audience, busily taking notes. She was credited for being one of the most critical, powerful forces on the prevention front by housing and supporting the Valley’s homeless youth.

“It’s all a about upstream primary prevention,” Carson said.

This all day event covered a range of topics but the Opioid Epidemic often found itself at the forefront of conversation. There was even a bonafide TED talk. Adams indicated that he came up here to learn about Alaska’s experience with the crisis, visiting the Mat-Su, Anchorage and other communities around the state.

If some came in that door right now and said, ‘some one is out in the hall and having a heart attack,’ We’d expect in a room one this size, there’d be a number of people here in the room who could administer CPR, Adams said. “But in a room of this size can you say for certain and on average if someone had naloxone would know how to administer it? We’ve got to get to that point if we are going to turn this around.”

“The Mat-Su Opioid Task Force is going to use the Prevention Summit as a ‘springboard’ to advance all the great ideas that were addressed at the Summit. One concept that we want to create is a ‘continuum of care’ of upstream primary prevention strategies for all age groups starting with prenatal through seniors,” Carson said.

Adams, Dr. Jay Butler, Chief Medical Officer and Director of the Division of Public Health for the State of Alaska DHSS, and Elizabeth Ripley, Executive Director of the Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) all kicked off the event with the opening panel discussion, Prevention: A Fireside Chat.

“If you want to condemn people who are addicted, that’s your business, but I ask you, if you could feel that overwhelming sense of love and forgiveness, wouldn’t that be something that you seek again?” Butler said.

According to Butler, “a lot has changed” in the past two years, regarding the substance abuse treatment, prevention, and particularly with harm reduction. He credited narcan rescue kits as a key addition to the community when trying to reduce the number deaths from overdose.

“There were over 140 Alaskan whose lives were saved, according to our law enforcement friends,” Butler said.

“We are not where we need to be but we are moving in the right direction,” Butler said.

The audience seemed very receptive to the assorted presentations, showing a lot of energy and enthusiasm, even feeling a sermon at times when a speaker hit a raw nerve with a catchy quote.

“We have a long way to go and it’s going to take all of us to make our community better,” Terria Vandenhuerk, founder and president of Fallen Up Ministries said during her panel discussion.

Vandenhuerk “never thought she would be sitting by the DA” but she sat with Rick Allen, Anchorage District Attorney, Amy Spargo, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction for the Mat-Su Borough School District (MSBSD), Crystalyn Lemieux, executive director of Compassionate Directions, and Andy Jones, Director of the Office of Substance Misuse and Addiction Prevention (OSMAP) for the Community Voices: Promising Practices. They discussed various perspectives, stories, and possible solutions on substance abuse prevention and intervention practices.

“Come over to my world,” Vandenhuerk beckoned a hypothetic naysayer.

Vandenhuerk’s presence in the community has been unmissable over the past few years. Representing her peer to peer support organization, she’s been to many events like this, trying to break the stigma and misconceptions of substance abuse. As a recovered addict, she knows the struggle all to well and tries to connect as many people as she can to peers, treatment and ultimately, redemption. Her efforts have not gone unnoticed. Various local and international news outlets followed her around after her talk.