Dear Leaders,
First of all, I want to start with a moment of gratitude.
For the first time in years, we are seeing a decrease in overdoses in our region. According to the data from the 2023 Medical Examiner’s Interim Report, our region saw a 14.86% reduction in opioid overdose deaths since June 2022. Importantly, each county in the Tampa Bay region saw a reduction in the number of opioid overdose deaths.
What do the decreases mean? That we all need to redouble our efforts and make sure that this positive news continues. We need to not let the hard work of the last few years go to waste. We’re in this fight for the long haul and are glad you are as well.
We hope that as we return from the summer and school ramps up that you use this moment to deepen your commitment to us and this fight.
September is Recovery Month, and Live Tampa Bay is involved in multiple local and national events, we’d love to see you at them. Virtually and in person.
- August 22nd we will host a Back-to-School Webinar Special where we will be joined by NYTimes Bestselling author Jessica Lahey, Dr. Richard Miech, co-Investigator of the NIDA-funded Monitoring the Future study, and many more talking about parents, teens, substance use, and recovery.
- September 3rd at 5:30, join us for Recovery and The Rays. A night of networking, fellowship, inspired speakers, and some close-to-playoff baseball. The Rays are on a winning streak, and we are ecstatic to join our hometown team for a fun night of baseball and recovery awareness.
- September 22nd, Live Tampa Bay is honored to have been asked by SAMHSA to coproduce a panel,“Recovery Across Our Country.” Emmy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Hank Azaria will be honored for his dedication to removing stigma. Then he will join a panel with James Beard Award-nominated chef and famed restauranteur, Jose Salazar, and Susan Magsamen, the founder and executive director of the International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics (IAM Lab) at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. It will be moderated by Ariel Britt, creator of the award-winning ‘Beauty in the Grit’ podcast.
As you can see, it’s a full month ahead of us. We remain excited by the progress we’ve made, but realistic about the work ahead. We hope you’ll join us at any or all of our upcoming events. As we know, every bit helps.
Yours in Service,
Jennifer Webb