U.S. Representative Jackie Walorski (R-IN) announced the award of a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to Porter-Starke Services and the Starke Taskforce for Overdose Prevention (STOP) to help combat the opioid crisis in Starke County.
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The Starke Taskforce for Overdose Prevention (STOP) is working to bring community members from various backgrounds and sectors together to address prevention, treatment and recovery in regards to opioid abuse disorder within the community.
Continue readingStarke County and Knox City officials, medical professionals, law enforcement representatives, local organization leaders and state agencies gathered Tuesday afternoon to get an idea of what will be involved in a Starke County Opioid Planning Grant Consortium.
Moving Starke County Forward is working to reduce the stigma attached to drug abuse and deaths due to overdoses. The 56 ribbons that have lined the front lawn of Starke Hospital for the past few weeks represent local lives lost to drug overdoses over the past seven years. They were moved to Wythogan Park in Knox last night for the second annual candlelight vigil to remember lives lost and celebrate those who are in recovery. Continue reading
The Starke County Early Education Advisory Council invites families with young children to a preschool fair this evening from 5 until 7 at the community center in downtown Knox. More than 25 preschools and community organizations will have booths, and several will offer activities for children. Porter-Starke Director of Children’s Services Todd Willis says preschool is a good opportunity for children and parents to get used to being away from one another. He says one of the main causes of stress for young children is separating from their family, so getting them into an environment where they can learn to take turns and make peer relationships outside the family is extremely important.
“When I don’t learn as a young child how to resolve conflict with my peer, and I need to resort to throwing a temper tantrum or aggression, if those basic skills are not learned early, they follow the kid into adulthood. Really, the opportunity for a child in that 3 to 4 age learning that early is crucial,” Willis says. Continue reading
The second of four Families and Addiction Seminars is scheduled this evening at the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center in downtown Knox. They are an outgrowth of last spring’s Moving Starke County Forward Drug Symposium. Porter-Starke Substance Abuse and Addiction Counselor Todd Willis says the goal is to present information in a non-threatening, educational setting.
