/
Print
Services
Residents
Business
Visitors
Government
City of Knoxville
Blogs
City Blog
U.S. Mayors meet in Nashvill...
U.S. Mayors meet in Nashville to Address the Opioid Crisis
A team from Knoxville, led by Mayor Madeline Rogero, joined five other cities from across the U.S. for a Mayors’ Institute on Opioids, which convened in Nashville Dec. 10-12.
The meeting included national experts and presentations around best practices to address the opioid crisis, with some communities beginning to see a stabilization and even a reduction in the number of fatal and non-fatal overdoses.
William Moyers, Vice President for Public Affairs and Public Relations at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, kicked off the multi-day event, sharing his personal and professional story of recovery as the son of journalist and political commentator Bill Moyers.
At the meeting, the NLC released its preliminary report,
Aligning City, County and State Resources to Address the Opioid Epidemic: Lessons Learned and Future Opportunities
, which summarized key findings to date for the Institute.
The Mayors’ Institute is coordinated and sponsored by the National League of Cities (NLC) Institute for Youth, Education and Families, and it is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Knoxville is one of six cities selected through a competitive process to participate in the effort.
The goal of the Institute is to assist mayors in identifying and advancing solutions to address the opioid epidemic. Joining Knoxville are teams from West Virginia, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Washington state.
From left: Mayor Victoria Woodards (Tacoma, Wash.), Mayor Paul Soglin (Madison, Wisc.), keynote speaker William Moyers, Mayor Rogero, Mayor Steve Williams (Huntington, W. Va.) and Mayor Joyce Craig (Manchester, N.H.)
The year-long program kicked off in May 2018 with a convening in Boston and continues through spring 2019, providing technical assistance for cities through consultants and webinars, as well as several in-person meetings.
Knoxville’s team is led by Mayor Rogero and includes Knoxville Police Department Chief Eve Thomas, Metro Drug Coalition Executive Director Karen Pershing, Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Commissioner Marie Williams, and Knox County Health Department Director Dr. Martha Buchanan.
Discussions and panels at the convening delved into expanding access to treatment and services, strategic planning, financing strategies, the role of faith-based organizations and a specific panel on innovative efforts and partnerships in Tennessee.
The Tennessee panel was moderated by Pershing and included the Opioid Coordinators from the Tennessee Department of Health and the Nashville Metro Public Health Department, as well as Commissioner Williams.
Unlike many states, Tennessee has been deliberative about pushing federal funding to the local level in a timely manner, according to Commissioner Williams.
The Tennessee Department of Health recently named Shoana Anderson and Kristen Zak as Director and Deputy Director, respectively, for a recently formed opioid response group at the state level.
Commissioner Marie Williams of the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (left) is joined by Kristen Zak, Tennessee Department of Health, and Trevor Henderson, Metro Public Health Department of Nashville, on a panel.
Mayor Steve Williams of Huntington, W. Va., is at the forefront of the opioid epidemic. He shared that his community is beginning to see a stabilization and decline in fatal and non-fatal overdoses as are other cities in the U.S., according to recent reports.
Mayor Williams credits Quick Response Teams (QRTs), partnerships with Marshall University, and involving faith-based organizations as key efforts that moved his community forward.
The NLC is releasing several publications summarizing the work of the group, including an initial publication,
A Prescription for Action: Local Leadership in Ending the Opioid Crisis
.
Posted by
On 17 December, 2018 at 1:38 PM
Recent Posts
Urban Wilderness: 1 week, 2 milestones
Congratulations to KPD's Newly Promoted Officers!
#PublicWorksWednesday: Dirty Lots and Neighborhood Codes
KPD Officer Delivers Groceries to Snowbound 90-Year-Old: 'I Love Taking Care of My Community'
KFD Provided Life-saving Help During the Snowstorm: 'We Made a Difference'
Fleet Services Technicians Worked 24/7 to Keep City Plow & Salt Trucks on the Road 24/7
Public Service Snow Plow Driver: 'Team Effort - People Were Definitely Appreciative of Us'
3-1-1 Customer Service Rep Connected People with Help: 'It Was Important to Me to Be Here'
Neighborhood Cocktail Bar Near Stadium Looking to Do Baseball- and Soccer-themed Drink Menus
Stadium Milestone: All 1,200 Tons of Steel Framing in Place, Plus Two-thirds of the Concrete Poured
Archives
March 2024 (3)
February 2024 (3)
January 2024 (2)
December 2023 (4)
November 2023 (5)
October 2023 (4)
August 2023 (1)
July 2023 (1)
June 2023 (4)
May 2023 (2)
Group Blogs
City Blog
KAT Blog
KPD News & Alerts
Magnolia Avenue Streetscapes Project
More...
Post Categories
City Events
City Services
Cumberland Ave.
Downtown
Government
KAT
Mayor Kincannon
Meetings
Neighborhoods
Outdoor & Recreation
Public Safety
Redevelopment
Road Work
South Waterfront
Sustainability
Content Alert Subscription
Blog Feeds
Podcast Feeds
Subscribe to Email Alerts