Dayton pastor joins in on national opioid discussion
WASHINGTON — White House officials sought to assure those affected by the opioid epidemic Thursday that virtually every cabinet agency was working on how best to alleviate the crisis.
At a White House summit on opioid abuse, Pastor Greg Delaney, the outreach coordinator for Woodhaven Recovery in Dayton, joined roughly 200 affected by the crisis to discuss the Trump administration’s effort to fight the opioid epidemic. Delaney, who celebrated 10 years of recovery in July, now works with faith leaders to help solve the crisis.
“I nearly lost my life to addiction,” he told a panel that included Alex Azar, secretary of health and human services; Ben Carson, secretary of housing and urban development; and David Shulkin, secretary of veterans affairs. “And while I was coming through recovery, the work of a pastor made all the difference for me.”
Delaney, who is also faith coordinator for the Ohio attorney general’s heroin unit, has organized roughly 60 forums with faith leaders to help them learn how to address the opioid epidemic. But speaking to the panel Thursday, he asked for assistance navigating funding to help them figure out how to help. “How can we eliminate some of the perceived or real barriers to some of this funding for those doing great grass-roots work at the faith-based level?” he asked.
Carson said the White House “has made very significant efforts” to protect the faith-based community, and the effort to address the epidemic should include the community. Azar asked Delaney to reach out to his department on this issue. “We’d like to know if we’re getting in the way,” he said.
The summit followed up on an October directive by President Donald Trump declaring the crisis a nationwide public health emergency and directing his administration to take steps to fight the epidemic. First lady Melania Trump opened the summit Thursday and President Trump arrived at the end, telling those gathered that “I know what you’re going through” and vowing to roll out a new policy to fight the epidemic in the next three weeks.
Delaney said he was “humbled” to visit the White House. “You’ve gotta think — 9 years ago I’m dying from alcoholism. I’m bankrupt. My wife is leaving. I’m homeless. I don’t have anything, and I’m sick. And to come out 9 years later and be just there was crazy. I never would’ve pictured myself there, ever.”
Less than a half-mile away, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman touted a bill he introduced this week with a bipartisan group of senators that would impose a threeday limit on the initial prescription of opioids for acute pain. After three days, the patient would have to return to the doctor to get a new prescription. An exception would be made for chronic pain.
Speaking to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Republican called for a “combined and unified effort that starts in our communities and extends all the way to the U.S. Capitol.”
“Make no mistake, the hard and important work must be done in our communities,” Portman said. “Washington can certainly be a better partner and assist in these efforts, but the solutions will not come from Washington alone.”