Hot topics right out of today’s headlines will be addressed during two meetings scheduled on Mon., July 16. Likely attracting the attention of civic-minded residents interested in some of the social challenges that impact this community and beyond, both forums will be opportunities for citizen input.
First up, the City of Naperville will host a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Social Services Grant meeting to educate the public on potential funding opportunities that are available through the two programs and to solicit feedback on future funding priorities.
The public meeting with two presentations will be held from 4 to 7PMÂ in Meeting Rooms B & C of the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St.
The meeting is open to previous recipients of both grant programs and all others who are interested in applying for grants in the future.
Second, beginning at 7PM U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Hinsdale, will host a Heroin Education and Prevention Forum to address the growing problem of teen heroin use in suburban Chicago.
The forum is scheduled from 7 to 9PM in North Central College’s Wentz Concert Hall at the Fine Arts Center, 171 E. Chicago Ave.
Local law enforcement officers, educators and health experts will provide information for parents and discuss the rise of heroin use among suburban youth. Scheduled presenters include Celeste Napier, a professor in the Department of Pharmacology at Rush University and director of the Research and Recovery Center for Compulsive Behaviors and Addiction; Owen Putnam, an agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; John Roberts, who cofounded the group Heroin Epidemic Relief Organization (HERO) after losing his son, Billy, to heroin; and Bill Patrianakos, a HERO board member and recovering addict.
The evening will include a panel discussion featuring DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin; Kathleen Burke, chief executive officer of the Robert Crown Center for Health Education; and Pam Witt, a school counselor at Neuqua Valley High School.
In recent months, a number of educational forums have been coordinated via the Naperville Public Library, local school districts and public safety officials to inform the parents and interested residents about the increase of heroin use. Awareness education continues to be updated as heroin use has become a major issue in the suburbs, following the deaths of seven young people in the Naperville area in the past year.
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