U.S. Attorney Announces Video Campaign to Educate Parents, Kids and Community Leaders on Growing Opiate Epidemic

Video links will be sent to hundreds of school administrators,
in more than 60 counties in Kentucky

Videos have potential to reach 1.7 million people on Facebook

Videos include perspectives from parents, a federal prison inmate,
a recovering addict, medical and health professionals, and more.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky is announcing the launch of a video campaign to better educate communities on the opioid and heroin epidemic and address misperceptions about the problem. The office has created four videos that are now available on its website: justice.gov/usao-edky/heat. The videos will be promoted using social media, and links to the videos will be sent to over a thousand school and community leaders, including mayors, county judge executives, and school resource officers, across the 67 counties comprising the eastern half of the state.

The videos include a wide variety of perspectives on the opiate issue – including that of a federal prison inmate, an addict in recovery, parents who have lost a child to an overdose, a nurse-manager of a hospital Emergency Department, one of the nation’s top physician addiction specialists, a public health official, a federal prosecutor, the head of the DEA in Kentucky, and U.S. Attorney Harvey.

The videos will address topics such as the origin and escalation of the opiate epidemic; why a person turns to opiates; the nature of opiate addiction; what parents need to know to educate their children concerning the danger of opiate abuse, and law enforcement efforts to combat the problem.

"To win this fight, we must clearly understand what we’re up against," said U.S. Attorney Harvey. "We must acknowledge that the opioid epidemic threatens every segment of our community and we must eliminate the false stereotypes and misperceptions that hamper our efforts. These videos provide important insights from those who, in one way or another, have been deeply affected by this epidemic. These videos will compliment what our families from the USA HEAT program are already doing in their presentations to community."

The campaign includes a social media strategy that has the potential to reach 1.7 million people in the eastern half of Kentucky using Facebook.

Below is a list and description of the videos:

Heroin’s Hold (22:30): A history and current state of the opioid epidemic. Medical, public health, and law enforcement professionals explore the relationship between widespread use of prescription opioids and the heroin epidemic. Addicts tell their stories of the power of addiction. Families share their stories and advice after overdose deaths.

Heroin is Here (4:09): Federal prosecutor and DEA Special Agent explore the history and current state of the opioid epidemic, including the prevalence of heroin and fentanyl, and the federal government’s drug enforcement response.
 

Heroin is Hell (4:09): Recovering addicts and their families share their stories of the path and power of opioid addiction and the struggle to overcome addiction.
 

Heroin Hurts (4:19): Families tell about the struggle of opioid addiction and tragedy of heroin and fentanyl overdose deaths.
 

To learn more about the United States Attorney’s fight against Kentucky’s heroin epidemic, please visit USA HEAT at justice.gov/usao-edky/heat, or Google "U.S. Attorney’s HEAT."