LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A southern Indiana group will begin its annual week-long event series to raise addiction awareness on Monday. 

Clark County CARES, a group aimed at increasing awareness of addiction and its causes, has held free educational and solution seminars for the past eight years. Carolyn King, one of the founders of Clark County CARES, said the events are all geared toward different audiences.

"It's a really good example where a small group of people can really make a difference," King said. "By identifying issues in the community, we are seeing changes and we are seeing the stigma being reduced. People are understanding that whole issue of addiction, which is a very deep issue.

"Many things have to be addressed, personal trauma, the whole medical side of addiction. We're seeing much more understanding. We're seeing Narcan with all our first responders and we have vending machines around the community that can save people's lives."

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than 112,000 overdose deaths in a 12-month period nationally in 2023. 

Health departments in southern Indiana have worked to make Naloxone, also known as Narcan, more available around the area.

"We're seeing people entering treatment, we're seeing a lot more treatment options in the community than we used to have, and we're seeing more people just working together on behalf of each other," King said.

On Monday, a State of the State event will feature a panel discussion with health officials, local law enforcement, judges, people in recovery and health care providers. Tuesday will showcase a new program, Integrated Reentry and Correctional Support (IRACS), in Clark County that supports people who leave jail after substance abuse to develop a new lifestyle.

"We have people that are in the jail that follow people that are there for drug substance misuse, and help them as they leave the jail to get into a new lifestyle," King said. "In the past, people would go into jail, they would pass their time there, come out, go back to their same friends or same situation. This breaks that cycle."

IRACS started last week in Clark County, according to King.

Donald Whitehead with the National Coalition for the Homeless is the keynote speaker on Thursday for a lunch event.

The schedule for Clark County CARES Drug Facts Week:

  • Monday - State of the State Panel Discussion, St. Paul's Episcopal Church at 6 p.m.
  • Tuesday - Rethinking Reentry in Clark County, Jeffersonville Police Department at 6 p.m.
  • Wednesday - Recovery Supportive Workplace, 300 Spring Street at 11:30 a.m.
  • Thursday - "Most Unlikely to Succeed", Gilt Edge Baptist church at 11:30 a.m.
  • Thursday - Annual Dinner, Mark Fetter Center at 6 p.m.
  • Friday - Lip Sync Battle, Ivy Tech Community College at 6 p.m.
  • Saturday - Family Fun in February, Spring Hill EnVision Center at 10 a.m.
  • Sunday - Night of Remembrance, base of Big Four Bridge, 6 p.m.

"All of our events are free, we get wonderful support from the city of Jeffersonville, from the town of Clarksville and from various agencies around," King said. "I think it's important for people to understand the roots of addiction."

To learn more about Clark County CARES Drug Facts Week 2024, click here.

To view resources offered in southern Indiana, click here. For more information on overdose prevention and response from the Clark County Health Department, click here.

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