Unlikely activist Charlotte Wethington of Transitions will speak about heroin abuse at a meeting of the Women’s Network of Northern Kentucky on Saturday.
Wethington lobbied for The Matthew Casey Wethington Act for Substance Abuse Intervention (Casey’s Law) after the death of her son by a heroin overdose at age 23 in 2002.
The meeting will be held at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 10 at The Syndicate in Newport.
“Think there’s nothing you can do? That’s what we were told,” Wethington says. “The insurmountable obstacle that we faced with our son, Casey, was that he was 23 years old and had the “right” to choose whether or not he needed treatment.”
Casey’s Law was passed in Kentucky on July 13, 2004 and allows parents, relatives, and/or friends to petition the court for treatment on behalf of an adult addict.
“Heroin continues to plague Northern Kentucky,” says Joan Gregory of The Women’s Network.
“It was the number one issue mentioned at the Northern Kentucky caucuses when the General Assembly was in session, and our region has made national news over heroin’s rampant uptick in our area.”
There has been an increase in Casey’s Law petitions in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties since the surge in heroin overdoses in recent years but the law still isn’t widely known.
The Women’s Network, says Gregory, wants to use the Oct. 10 session as an opportunity to have a conversation, “understand just what is happening to try to address it,” and talk about options that already exist.
The lunch meeting is at The Syndicate, 18 E. 5th St., in Newport. Doors open at 11:00, lunch is served at 11:30. The cost is $12. Parking in the lot across the street is $1.
Reservations are required. Contact Charlene McGrath at charlene_mcgrath@hotmail.com
For more information about Casey’s Law, visit caseyslaw.org and transitionsky.org