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Guard task force enters opioids fight

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Project Bald Eagle has entered into a partnership with the PA National Guard Counterdrug Joint Task Force to pool their resources to combat opiod addiction. From left are Maj. Max Furman and Senior Master Sgt. Nancy Stoltzful of the task force, and Steven Shope, executive director of Project Bald Eagle.

Project Bald Eagle is expanding its fight against the heroin epidemic by joining forces with the National Guard Counterdrug Joint Task Force.

“We want to take on a more regional approach,” said Steven Shope, Project Bald Eagle executive director.

The expanded outreach will involve Project Bald Eagle and the task force creating coalitions throughout northeastern and central Pennsylvania.

Shope noted that the opioid scourge, while apparent in Lycoming County where the organization began, also is a big problem in nearby counties.

Army National Guard Maj. Matt Furman, task force counterdrug coordinator, said his group can provide direct support to the law enforcement operations fighting the drug epidemic partly through training, education and other efforts.

“We can help with investigations,” Furman said.

Task force personnel will attend meetings of “existing and potential stakeholders in the region during preliminary assessment and organization phases.”

“We work with communities across the state,” said Air National Guard Senior Master Sgt. Nancy Stoltzfus, civil operations program manager for the task force.

Overall, the plan is for Project Bald Eagle to increase its impact to communities by expanding geographically in the region.

“We know we need some regional coalitions throughout the state,” Shope said. “We are definitely looking to help people.”

Since its inception, Project Bald Eagle has provided outreach drug education during a time when the opioid epidemic has dramatically increased.

In the past year, the outreach has included naloxone education and training sessions in the community.

Naloxone is a drug used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose.

In 2017, the training sessions will continue to be offered to employers in the region.

Under state law, law enforcement officials and citizens have the right to obtain naloxone, but many areas of the state are without the training and resources to use the life-saving drug.

Each day, an estimated 10 people die in the state from a drug overdose.

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