1. Northern Michigan Substance Free Initiative
Personal Story / Focus on Prevention
Ken & Ellen Kaufman
May 15, 2017

2. Outline
A brief introduction of ourselves and our story – we lost our son Brian tragically to a heroin overdose on April 23, He had been clean for 6 months but sadly relapsed.
Brief Video / Interview of Ellen and Ken in made for an August, 2016 heroin summit held in Midland, Mi.
Remarks by Ellen and Ken
Key Message / Take Aways
Closing

3. Video/Interview of Ellen and Ken Used at the Heroin Summit, Midland Mi
August, 2016

4. Remarks by Ellen and Ken

5. Key Take Away Message
NEVER START USING OPIATES - the only sure way to prevent addiction
OPIOIDS DO NOT DISCRIMINATE
ALL OPIOIDS ARE ADDICTIVE – know what they are and where they come from
REFUSE OPIATES WHEN PRESCRIBED - unless life or death to deal with pain management
PRESCRIPTION OPIATE ADDICTION WILL LEAD TO HEROIN - get help immediately
WITHDRAWEL / ABSTINENCE RECOMMENDED – use the 12 step AA/NA program; suboxzone or methadone are prescription substitutes
EDUCATE FAMILIES / FRIENDS – understand opiates, addiction and the impact

6. Key Take Away Message (with comments)
NEVER START USING OPIATES - the only sure way to prevent addiction
OPIOIDS DO NOT DISCRIMINATE - This tragedy can happen to any family. We had a great family, we did things together, dinner, events, church, vacations, volunteering. Our son obtained his BS Chemical Engineering degree from Michigan Tech and was working in his field. He was not a bum on the street
ALL OPIOIDS ARE ADDICTIVE – know what they are and where they come from: Doctors, Nurses, Dentists, Veterinarians, Pharmacists, yours or your relatives medicine cabinet, on the street. Drug companies like Purdue Pharma push opioids to health care providers and they often do not know the dangers of addiction. There is a 4 fold increase in prescription drugs in Michigan since 2007 to 745M pills in 2016
REFUSE OPIATES WHEN PRESCRIBED - unless life or death to deal with pain management. Use less addictive medicine and deal with pain
PRESCRIPTION OPIATE ADDICTION WILL LEAD TO HEROIN - get help immediately
WITHDRAWEL / ABSTINENCE RECOMMENDED - We recommend using a 12 step AA/NA program; suboxzone or methadone are prescription substitutes (strive for complete sobriety)
EDUCATE FAMILIES / FRIENDS – understand opiates, addiction and the impact. Our family will never be the same, not more than 30 minutes of a day go by without us thinking about our loss

7. Background on the problem - from Governor Snyder’s Opioid Task Force
4 fold increase in prescription pills to 745 million
Deaths per 100K residents doubled and Michigan ranks 18th in the US