updating the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program; promoting legislation that would help prevent carfentanil and fentanyl trafficking; creating addiction medicine fellowships; and expanding naloxone distribution in every county.
Although churches aren’t required to participate, due to the separation between church and state, Royce and Marshall emphasized the service and goodwill elements of helping their fellow community members.
Royce made general recommendations on how churches can provide additional support to persons entering addiction recovery. One option is for churches to host Alcoholics Anonymous and other substance abuse support groups.
Most important is that Christian men and women be more accepting of persons receiving addiction treatment and provide a safe community for them to feel welcome, she added.
Mobile’s Faith Forum was the second in a four location series. The first took place in Montgomery, and additional forums have been planned to be held in Birmingham and Huntsville this month.
Marshall, who is currently up for re-election, plans to arrange similar outreach and awareness group meetings in the near future.
Author: Sean Woodard
Sean Woodard is a journalist for Addiction Now and serves on the Film Department for Drunk Monkeys Literary Magazine and Film Blog. Focusing on a wide variety of interests, Sean’s fiction, film criticism, and other writing have been featured in Los Angeles Review of Books, Found Polaroids, and Los Angeles Magazine, among other publications. A native of Visalia, CA, he now resides in Orange County. Contact Sean at seanw@addictionnow.com
