Starke County’s response to the opioid crisis could soon include parks and recreation. Potential partnership opportunities with the Starke Taskforce for Overdose Prevention were discussed during this month’s Starke County Park Board meeting.
Taylor O’Neal Long is a former park superintendent who now serves as the Starke County grant coordinator for Porter-Starke Services. She told the park board that there are a number of steps they can take. It could be as simple as offering meeting space and volunteer opportunities to recovery organizations or even installing disposal boxes for syringes or prescription medications.
On top of that, O’Neal Long suggested that the park board might include a section on overdose prevention the next time it updates its master plan. She noted that the National Recreation and Park Association has a number of resources for how park boards can help in the response to the opioid crisis.
