CANTON – The next St. Lawrence County’s Opioid Task Force Partners 4 Substance Use Prevention meeting is scheduled for May 10 at 10 a.m. at the Best Western University Inn in Canton.

The Task Force also plans to host three community forums this month with the first slated for this afternoon, May 7, at 3:30 in Massena.

The upcoming May 10 meeting will feature information on stigma surrounding substance use disorder — an essential consideration for combatting this epidemic.

The presentation will be facilitated by Lisa Skill from the Office of Drug User Health of the New York State Department of Health.

In addition, task force members will begin to organize into subcommittees to plan work activities in the areas of prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery.

This is the 5th meeting for the group—the goal of each meeting is to:

• provide education on a relevant topic to assist in spreading information to the county at large;

• plan and implement activities related to prevention and education, Narcan training, improving access to treatment, and support during recovery; and

• networking and sharing ideas, events, and resources.

The meetings bring together a variety of individuals including treatment and recovery specialists, educators, health care practitioners, law enforcement, first responders, pharmacists, concerned citizens, and public health officials.

Meetings are held the second Friday morning of each month and are open to the public. In June the meeting will feature a discussion on vaping; July will feature a panel on marijuana.

The task force will also hold three 2-hour community forums to get perspectives from all county residents on the opioid crisis. The meetings are scheduled for May 7 at 3:30 p.m. in Massena; May 16 at 3:30 p.m. in Canton; and May 30 at 6 p.m. in Ogdensburg.

These forums will be led by the Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization. They will offer a chance for people to share how they have been affected and help determine where investment is needed.

To register for the forums, please visit www.fdrhpo.org/forums.

For more information about the task force, Partners 4 Substance Use Prevention, please contact Dana McGuire at 315-386-2325 or domcguire@stlawco.org.