Youth Summit to focus on opioid awareness

The New Hampshire Youth Summit on Opioid Awareness will draw thousands of middle and high school students to Manchester on Tuesday. The summit will focus on prevention of opioid use through healthy lifestyles. More than 8,000 students will travel to Manchester from all over the state to participate.

The summit is being presented by the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation in conjunction with DEA 360, a program of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency that works with cities to combat the fentanyl, heroin, and prescription drug abuse epidemic and associated violent crime and includes community outreach as part of its approach.

The summit will include a keynote address from Jeff Allison, a New England native and former Miami Marlins pitcher. Allison will share his personal story of addiction and recovery. Students will see the film “If Only,” co-produced by James Wahlberg with support from Recovery Centers of America and Millennium Health.

DEA Special Agent Jon DeLena will talk about addiction and the impact of opioids in our communities.

Governor Chris Sununu will be a guest at the summit.

Many groups – including Manchester’s Makin’ It Happen Coalition ­– will be on-hand to provide resources on prevention, positive and constructive extracurricular activities, and on addiction and recovery services.

Students will leave the summit with tools and strategies to bring back to their school communities.

The Foundation is supporting the summit as a co-sponsor.

“This summit is an opportunity to bring together youth in Manchester to recognize that youth have a role to play in keeping their communities healthy and safe,” said Tym Rourke, Charitable Foundation director of Substance Use Disorders Grantmaking and chair of the Governor’s Commission on Alcohol and Drug Use. “We appreciate DEA 360’s strategy in recognizing that kids and their families need positive messages and supports.”