Heroin use continues to be a growing threat to communities and needs to be checked, community leaders and first responders will argue at a public forum to be held on March 29 in Chicago’s Southwest suburbs. Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison (17th District), who organized the forum, said speakers will include Broncos offensive guard and Super Bowl Champion Mike Schofield, National Football Players Fathers Association (NFPFA) chairman Curtis Randal EL, first responders with experience treating drug overdoses as well as survivors of extreme drug use. Hosted by the Orland Fire Protection District, the forum is titled “In The Blink of an Eye” and speaks to students and young people about the impact and consequences of drug use. Students will hear real-life experiences and discuss decision-making skills to resist the social pressures of drug use and addiction, organizers said.

Real life presentations will focus on the extreme dangers of drug use, specifically the heroin/opioid epidemic, which has taken hold throughout many parts of the country as well as right here in the Chicagoland area. Students will also hear about the dangerously high safety risk of texting and driving which has now reached the same dangerous level of drinking and driving. In addition to the presentations, representatives from the Brookfield Zoo, the Chicagoland Regional College Program and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County will be on-hand to discuss job and internship opportunities with student attendees. This free event will be held on Wednesday, March 29 from 7:00pm to 8:30pm at the MAX McCook Athletic & Exposition located in the Village of McCook. High school students and their families from the south and southwest suburbs of Cook County along with the west side of Chicago have been invited to attend this free special event.