BROCKTON Sean Merrill was known as a member of the recovery community who used his own experience with drug addiction and faith to help others.
His family said his proudest job was working for Adult & Teen Challenge Massachusetts in Brockton, a Christian-based recovery program that he graduated from and joined to help others. I m taking this opportunity God gave me to be a better big brother and to help other people recover from addiction, Merrill told The Enterprise in 2016.
Merrill lost his more than decade long battle with addiction on June 25 at the age of 42. He was a great son and great man who just had so many hurts, said his mother, Cheryl Juaire.
2020 was B.C. s deadliest year ever for drug overdoses, coroner says
Last year was B.C. s deadliest on record for drug overdoses, with almost five people dying every day on average, according to the BC Coroners Service.
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1,716 people died due to illicit drug use last year, equating to 4.7 deaths a day a 74% increase over 2019
Posted: Feb 11, 2021 10:04 AM PT | Last Updated: February 11
A rose in memory of those lost to the opioid crisis is pictured at the intersection of East Hastings Street and Main Street in Vancouver s Downtown Eastside neighbourhood on Feb. 11. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
HCC Uses Innovative Prevention Efforts To Curb Overdose, Drug Abuse
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The Hamilton County Coalition has been a pillar in Chattanooga and other Southeast Tennessee communities in providing prevention resources for overdose, substance abuse disorder, and more.
As Hamilton County Coalition entered its 11th year of operation at the beginning of 2020, its staff, directors, and partners had developed a procedural way of accomplishing their goals. But when COVID-19 shutdowns began locally in mid-March, many of these standards were deemed unsafe.
âBeing inside the communities we serve to build relationships and understand their needs has been our best method to enact positive change, so we had to make a lot of difficult decisions on how to move forward safely and effectively in a time where COVID-19 cases and overdose rates were devastating many of our communities,â Hamilton County Coalition Executive Director Camilla Bibbs-Lee said.