Birchfield discussed PIECES past and upcoming activities and the nature of Southern West Virginia's substance abuse problems.
Birchfield said PIECES has been around for four years and is finally gaining momentum with several upcoming projects, such as a special meeting for area pastors to get the faith based community involved in the drug crisis; another drug summit and a special prevention program that will eventually make it into every school room in Logan County.
"We applied for a big grant from the Justice Department and were one of 12 counties that will receive funding," Birchfield said. "We will spend that on some really good projects."
In addition to the "Too Good For Drugs" program for the Logan school system, PIECES will also put together a web site with facts and resources about substance abuse, and begin a public information campaign as well as working with other prevention groups. Birchfield said the prevention program for the school system is one of the major approaches to combat drugs the group has done since inception as PIECES focuses primarily on drug prevention.
Birchfield noted that tobacco abuse is a major problem in Logan County and that there is a high number of expecting mothers who smoke during pregnancy.
Dr. David Matthews and Jim Kern are expected to be guest speakers at the third annual Drug Summit which will focus on Prescription Drug Abuse and Appalachia.
Birchfield noted that at the last drug summit a lot of people wanted to know why so many area ministers were not involved in fighting drugs.
"We got a lot of feedback on that both years," she said. "Logan County has not had a lot of pastoral presence in the substance abuse fight. I had a talk with Rev. Lee McDermott about this and so we have a substance abuse training program coming up for pastors on June 18. All pastors in Logan and Mingo County are invited. 300 brochures have been sent out and pastors are being called and invited."
The Pastor's training program will be held on June 18 at 9 a.m. at Southern West Virginia Community Technical College. The Prevention Resource Center will be helping with that program and we need our local pastors to come together for this. If a pastor cannot attend, we are asking them to send deacons or church elders. We need their help on this issue."
Lions President Roger Perry said that as a judge, he has seen the havoc drugs can cause in the lives of ordinary working people. Others noted that the current drug problem is not just something that only affects "drug culture" people like in the 70s and 80s as many people who never touched "street drugs" have gotten hooked on narcotic pain pills, and that just about everybody knows somebody in their own family with problems caused by substance abuse anymore.
"Their lives fall apart," Perry said.
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