On the Job 

I have been working with many Ohio families devastated by our state’s heroin epidemic, and if I could somehow change the reason for our encounters, I would.

It is, unfortunately, far too late to prevent the suffering these families have endured. But together, Ohioans in communities across our state can increase the likelihood that other families won’t experience such senseless loss and grief.
 
Three families that have lost children — at ages 16 and 20 — and a woman who is eight years into recovery from an opiate addiction share their stories in a special report in this issue. I am struck by how similar these families are to my own: Parents involved in their kids’ lives. Kids happy to communicate with their parents, active in extracurriculars, and with plans to attend college or serve in the military.
 
These families, in spite of their own challenges and grief, are reaching out to help others in their communities. By sharing their stories — whether in schools, meetings, or the media — they are reducing the stigma and shame too long associated with the disease of addiction. They are standing up and acknowledging what has occurred in their families and, sadly, what could happen in many others if we don’t loosen the grip heroin and prescription pain pills have on our state.
 
They are part of the solution, one that must involve law enforcement, the court system, the medical community, treatment professionals, families, government, educators, and prevention specialists.

Only by working together will we beat this epidemic. We can’t arrest, sentence, legislate, or treat our way out of it. All of those strategies are part of the answer.
 
Many communities have opened their eyes to the problem and are finding ways to bring key players to the table. I am hopeful that a series of forums I am hosting around the state will further those efforts. And I am thankful that so many of my colleagues in public service and other arenas are focused on this issue.
 
The hopeful words of Portsmouth City Health Department nurse Lisa Roberts at our first forum keep coming back to me. Her town, once labeled the epicenter of Ohio’s opiate problem, is showing signs of recovery. She told us, “If you’re going to do something about your problems, first of all you have to recognize them. And then you have to stand up. And then you have to rise up. And rise up, indeed, we did.”
 
Very respectfully yours,
 
Mike DeWine
Ohio Attorney General