Hazelden Publishing Releases Heroin and Prescription Painkillers: A Toolkit for Community Action during October's National Prescription Opioid and Heroin Abuse Awareness Month.

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Oct 01, 2014, 10:47 ET

CENTER CITY, Minn., Oct. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Senate recently designated October as "National Prescription Opioid and Heroin Abuse Awareness Month" and resolved to hold a continuous national dialogue on efforts to combat what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention named the opioid "epidemic." To aid communities in preventing, responding to, and ending addiction to prescription pain pills and heroin, Hazelden Publishing has released the comprehensive Heroin and Prescription Painkillers: A Toolkit for Community Action.

Hazelden Publishing releases Heroin and Prescription Painkillers: A Toolkit for Community Action during October's National Prescription Opioid and Heroin Abuse Awareness Month. (PRNewsFoto/Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation)

"Hazelden Publishing has taken swift action to answer the Senate's call to combat the epidemic of opioid abuse and addiction in this country," said Joe Jaksha, publisher for the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. "We are developing solutions to help communities around the country proactively address this epidemic."

Designed for community leaders, educators, healthcare providers, and parents, the Toolkit contains the reproducible materials needed to create a multidisciplinary, coordinated plan. It includes:

the latest information and statistics on opioids
step-by-step guidance for communities to mobilize local resources
materials for media campaigns, including posters, press releases, and drug fact sheets
information for parents and caregivers to help identify opioid abuse
lesson plans for educators to effectively teach students about the dangers of opioid misuse
videos created for adult and adolescent audiences on topics related to prescription drug abuse, heroin addiction, and treatment

"This important publication draws on Hazelden Betty Ford's extensive experience in addiction treatment, publishing, education, research, and public advocacy," explained Jaksha.

The cost-effective toolkit helps communities take quick action. Learn more about Heroin and Prescription Painkillers: A Toolkit for Community Action on Hazelden Publishing's online bookstore, at www.hazelden.org/bookstore.

About The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by addiction to alcohol and other drugs. It is the nation's largest nonprofit treatment provider, with a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center. With 15 sites in California, Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Florida, Massachusetts, Colorado and Texas, the Foundation offers prevention and recovery solutions nationwide and across the entire continuum of care to help youth and adults reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction. It includes the largest recovery publishing house in the country, a fully accredited graduate school of addiction studies, an addiction research center, an education arm for medical professionals and a unique children's program, and is the nation's leader in advocacy and policy for treatment and recovery. Learn more at www.hazeldenbettyford.org.

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SOURCE Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation