Juneau has suffered six heroin-related deaths this year. The public is invited to share stories about addiction and discuss solutions at Wednesday night’s Community of Compassion gathering.
Grace Elliott, the event’s organizer, said the losses hit home. A family friend died of an overdose recently. He was dancing at her daughter’s wedding just weeks before.
“What we want is a space that people can gather in, that it’s a safe space for people to talk about their own experience, how they’re affected by this,” Elliott said. “A lot of the people who are coming already are family and friends of people who have died recently. A lot of these people are in their 20s.”
The Juneau Police Department is conducting a six-month anti-heroin initiative to help answer questions about why users start and why it’s so difficult to kick.
Police typically don’t send out press releases about heroin deaths. However, they released one on Oct. 5 after Robert James Hanson died in his family home. Hanson’s mother gave specific permission because she was distressed about the large number of overdoses in the capital city.
Grace Elliott said by talking, she hopes addiction can be de-stigmatized.
“So that we can have a realistic view of what the condition is in our community and then, thus be able to address it,” Elliott said.
Community of Compassion runs from 5 to 8 p.m. @360 in KTOO.
