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Thank You from the Executive Director

2022 March, Letter from the Executive Director, Newsletter

I’d like to thank all of you who were able to attend the Inaugural Leadership Luncheon to End Overdose. Well over 325 leaders gathered to demonstrate our regional commitment to combat the opioid crisis. Echoing the sentiments of our keynote speaker, Pat Geraghty, CEO of GuideWell, “I have never left a room with more optimism that we collectively are on the right path to truly make a difference.”

This stellar launch was fueled by the dedicated work of our chairs: David Pizzo, West Central Florida President of Florida Blue, Bemetra Simmons, Tampa Bay Partnership President/CEO, and Linda McKinnon, West Central Florida Behavioral Health CEO. But if we are to take this work from the stage to the streets of our communities, we need to deepen the engagement of our regional leaders.

Now is the time to step forward, just as Senator Rouson and our other regional leaders have done by sharing our stories.

Now is the time to join our Leadership, Stakeholder, and Grassroots coalitions to reduce fatal opioid overdoses by 50% in 5 years.

And, now is the time to commit our time and resources to ensure that the solutions we know to save lives can be rolled out equitably throughout communities in all of our 8 counties.

Action is what will turn this shared optimism into real results, and our leaders will fuel this action.

Jennifer Webb

Executive Director, Live Tampa Bay

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Letter from the CEO

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This February, I’ve been thinking a lot about how loneliness, overdose, and stigma show up in real lives here in Tampa Bay, and what it would look like for all of us to respond with more compassion, not more pressure. In my letter, I share why connection and person‑first language matter so much, how Black communities are carrying a disproportionate share of this crisis, and three simple ways we can care for ourselves more kindly while helping someone else feel less alone.