Thank you to everyone who joined us for this webinar. View a recording of the event below.
Given recent increases in overdose deaths among LatinX communities and the dire need for evidence-based, culturally appropriate prevention resources, Addiction Policy Forum is launching the Opioid Prevention Campaign for LatinX communities. Materials will be provided in both English and Spanish, and will feature primary prevention, intervention, and educational resources, ensuring that the important lessons taught in the Opioid Prevention Campaign are accessible to Spanish speaking communities.
With this resource, LatinX communities will be able to leverage the science of substance use disorders and integrate prevention efforts into communications with younger members of their community. Campaign resources include video explainers, activity and discussion templates, fact sheets, infographics and social media resources for parents and educators that translates what science says about preventing youth opioid misuse.
This campaign was made possible through funding from the AmerisourceBergen Foundation.
Featured Speakers
Rafael "Pancho" Mercado
Founder, Team HAVOC
When Mercado saw how the opioid epidemic was affecting his neighborhood, he took it into his own hands to create change in his community. With friends and neighbors, Mercado began passing out pamphlets to educate people about drugs, self-defense and places to go for assistance. He leveraged the power of community by recruiting people he knew who wanted to make a difference in the places they call home. That community service group became TEAM HAVOC, which stands for “Together Everyone Achieves More Helping Another Volunteer or Cause.”
Cristina Rabadán-Diehl, PharmD, PhD, MPH
Associate Director for Clinical Trials, Westat
A native Spanish speaker, with a long-term commitment to Hispanic health, Dr. Rabadán-Diehl is a multidisciplinary scientist with vast experience in chronic noncommunicable diseases and global health. In 2020, she was appointed a member of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) National Advisory Council (NAC), and is also a member of the Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Advisory Council (AODAAC) in Montgomery County, Maryland. Dr. Rabadán-Diehl has also dealt with the devastation of the opioid epidemic firsthand, having lost her son to an overdose in 2019.
Beverly Watts Davis
Chief Officer of Resource Development and Program Support and Senior Vice President for Texas, WestCare Foundation
Beverly Watts Davis has over 30 years of experience in leading and managing public agencies, non-profit organizations, and private companies. She has served at the Senior Executive Service level of the federal government as the Director of a Federal Agency, Senior Vice President of the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County, an elected official in Austin, Texas for 11 years, and Executive Director of San Antonio Fighting Back, Inc, a non profit organization with services to assist with substance abuse and HIV, youth community service, mental health services, life skills and more.
Kate Laepple Hertzog
AmerisourceBergen Foundation, Grants Administrator
Kate serves as Grants Administrator for the AmerisourceBergen Foundation, this campaign's funder. Additionally, Kate serves as Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Specialist, Community Impact for AmerisourceBergen.
With questions, please contact Haley Tenney at htenney@addictionpolicy.org.