NCAAC Holds Addiction Symposium at Muskingum University
ZANESVILLE, Ohio — The New Concord Area Addiction Coalition (NCAAC) hosted an addiction symposium at Muskingum University.
The NCAAC says it has become more aware of the presence of addiction in our communities and they want to discover ways to ensure New Concord doesn’t see the increase in fatal overdoses that other communities have.
“The New Concord area has decided to try to become proactive about addition, and because we have been fairly fortunate in not having any tragic deaths or terrible overdoses in our area that have affected our community with some of the negative effects that come with all that compared to some of the other communities around here,” said Anne Weirich, Pastor of College Drive Presbyterian Church. She explained that they wanted to start the conversations ahead of time.
Many different individuals and community members attended the event this morning at the Boyd Science Center, including members of various congregations, addiction professionals, and faculty and students from Muskingum University and other area school systems.
The symposium consisted of three keynote speakers, as well as six different workshops focused on addiction of all forms. The speakers included Dr. Shelley Amstutz-Szalay, an Assistant Professor of Health Sciences at Muskingum University; Dr. Ana Kehrberg, Associate Professor of Psychology at Muskingum University; and Rev. Dr. Brad Price, therapist, counselor, and Assistant Professor at the Methodist Theological School in Delaware, OH.
The workshops included “Real Life: Addiction Series,” “Supporting a Positive Future for Children,” “The Road Back: The Journey From Rehab, Incarnation, and Re-entry Into the Community,” Recovery is Beautiful: Recovery Series and Resources For the New Concord Area,” “Keynote Follow-Up,” and lastly, “The I Spy Room.” Each workshop was presented by different individuals with the focus of providing addicts with a healthy alternative to the substance abuse, or other addiction, that they crave.
“We’re really interested in the science of addiction and understanding it as a disease, but also to figure out what we can do next. We’re hoping that we can build a strong coalition here for the New Concord area. We’ve had some conversations with some of the agencies already and we’re hoping perhaps to form a coalition between the village and the University and the outlying areas that will cover the whole school district,” Weirich added.
The NCAAC formed in 2016 and is comprised of individuals from the Village of New Concord, New Concord Ministerial Associations, Muskingum University faculty and staff, and the New Concord Board of Trade.
