Back To School Bash in Norman To Educate Communities About Overdose Prevention

The Cleveland County Health Department is working with its partners to host a Back to School Bash that educates the community about overdose prevention and substance misuse.

The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 11, at Cleveland County Wellness Square, also known as The Well, at 210 James Garner Ave. in Norman.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said overdose deaths among people between 14 and 18 years old increased by 94 percent from 2019 to 2020, and by 20 percent from 2020 to 2021. In Cleveland County, that's a problem as well.

"Over the last five years, we've had approximately 60 overdose deaths in that under-24 age range," said Emma Rauser,  community drug overdose prevention project coordinator at the Cleveland County Health Department.

In addition, 15 percent of high schoolers in the U.S. reported using illicit or injection drugs, and 14% of students reported misusing prescription opioids, according to the CDC.

"Our youth risk behavioral survey data shows that prescription pain medicines or prescription pills in general are an issue among youth, and so that does raise concern in regard to fentanyl because a lot of those pills can be fake pills and they could include fentanyl," Rauser said.

To help reverse that trend, the Cleveland County Health Department and its partners will be providing overdose and substance abuse information to families during the Back to School Bash.

"We'll have a lot of resources available and a lot of providers here that are sharing resources and education in regard to adolescence and substance misuse or families or how to talk to their kids about substance misuse," said Rauser.

Among the resources at the event is an interactive discussion at 6:30 p.m. called, "From Curiosity to Addiction: Understanding Youth Substance Use & Identifying Intervention Tactics." Shelby Howland, an adolescent specialist therapist at The Virtue Center, will be leading the discussion in person and on Facebook Live.

For parents looking to keep their children away from drugs, Rauser noted signs to look out for.

"Any drastic changes in behavior - maybe lack of interest in activities they used to be interested in. And then of course, there's those physiological effects like extra sluggish or tired, maybe they are having increased heartrate or anxiety," said Rauser.

The Back to School Bash, organized in collaboration with 2nd Friday Norman Art Walk, will also feature free haircuts for people of all ages, courtesy of Gigglemugs Salon. In addition, there will be a touch a truck event featuring the Norman Fire Department, the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office, Norman Police, and Norman Emergency Management. Live music, food trucks and games will be available as well. Click here for more information.