The Talbot County Health Department and Talbot Partnership for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention will hold a town hall meeting from  7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. TONIGHT on Wednesday, July 17 at the Easton Middle School gymnasium (across from the YMCA) to address the growing issue of drug abuse in the county.

The goal of the meeting is to openly discuss the substance abuse problem in Talbot County and begin to identify new short- and long-term ideas that provide a continued emphasis on reducing the substance abuse problem in the community.

Everyone from the community is invited to attend.

The meeting will include three short presentations to introduce and summarize the issue. Kathy Foster, Talbot County health officer, will discuss trends. Sgt. Prendi Garcia, from the Maryland State Police Drug Task Force, will discuss what enforcement is seeing and what parents can look for. Lauren Carter, a local addictions counselor, will talk about the many reasons why kids use.

There will then be a panel of representatives and community leaders to address questions, concerns and recommendations from the community in an open forum. This panel is intended to include representatives from the schools, county council, courts, law enforcement, social service agencies, mental health, youth, Shore Health, business and more.

The next Talbot Parent Coalition meeting is July 31 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Easton Middle School gymnasium. The Coalition needs the community’s help to create smaller support groups for parents who are dealing with specific issues related to drug and alcohol use. The Coalition is in need of steering committee members to coordinate these groups. The Talbot Parent Coalition meets bimonthly at the meeting room at Denny’s in Easton.

For further information about the Talbot Parent Coalition, contact mary@easternshoreparent.com or contact Talbot Partnership at 401-819-8067.