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With opioid overdoses on the rise, The Front Porch hosts awareness event for Savannah parents

Drew Favakeh
Savannah Morning News

According to Michael Sarhatt, director of Chatham County's Counter Narcotics Team, there has been a 20% increase in opioid overdoses this year compared to last. CNT agents, he said, are "seizing drugs on a daily basis that are laced with fentanyl, not just opioids."

To help parents, teachers and the larger Savannah community understand the dangers arising from opioid abuse and to be aware of its subtle clues, CNT partnered on Monday with the multi-agency resource center, The Front Porch, at its Abercorn Street headquarters. There, a trailer built in 2018 by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Code Three Associates, simulated a teen's bedroom to highlight warning signs. 

Code Three Executive Director Joe Abdalla said that the trailer helps educate parents who worry about their children using drugs.

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Joe Abdalla, executive director Code 3, Michael G. Sarhatt, director CNT, and Dr. Rena Douse, CEO J.C. Lewis Primary Health Care Center, talk about opioid addiction inside the Opioid Awareness trailer on Monday November 28, 2022 during a visit to the J.C. Lewis Primary Healthcare Center. The inside of the trailer is set up to simulate a teens bedroom and highlight some of the hidden warning signs of opioid abuse.

Dr. Ann Levett, superintendent of the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, encouraged district parents and educators to visit the trailer. “It is alarming to see the increasing number of fatal overdoses among adolescents, a big part of our 36,000 plus students that we serve every day. Yet this group lacks critical information about the risk and the prevalence of this particular stuff.”

Joe Abdalla, executive director Code 3, talks with Dr. Rena Douse, CEO J.C. Lewis Primary Health Care Center and Michael G. Sarhatt, director CNT, inside the Opioid Awareness trailer on Monday November 28, 2022 during a visit to the J.C. Lewis Primary Healthcare Center. The inside of the trailer is set up to simulate a teen's bedroom and highlight some of the hidden warning signs of opioid abuse.

The Front Porch Director Anne Robinson said the trailer provided “innovative ideas that are crafted as a community-based risk-reduction program, and our risk-reduction program at The Front Porch really has to do with deterring youth and families from becoming involved with juvenile court.”

The Opioid Awareness trailer made a stop on Monday November 28, 2022 during at the J.C. Lewis Primary Healthcare Center.

U.S. Representative Buddy Carter, a former pharmacist who attended the event, said the opioid crisis “hits close to home” for him. “I can tell you firsthand how destructive opioid abuse can be. I've witnessed it. I've seen it change lives. I've seen it ruin lives.”

Drew Favakeh is the public safety reporter for Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavakeh@savannahnow.com.