BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — The public is invited to attend “Ripple Effects of the Opioid Epidemic,” a presentation by renowned journalist Randy Rieland on Friday, August 9, from noon to 1 p.m. at Strolling of the Heifers’ Brown Bag Lunch Series at the River Garden, 157 Main Street in Brattleboro.
Much of the attention of the opioid addiction epidemic has been focused on the staggering number of deaths it has caused, particularly in rural communities. But it has had many other ripple effects that could be felt for years – from how it has torn apart families to how it has affected police, EMTs, health workers and local businesses. Randy Rieland will share how some communities are coping.
About Randy Rieland
Randy Rieland was a newspaper and magazine writer and editor for 22 years before switching to digital media, where he was a content producer and director for 20 years, including a senior vice president for digital media for the Discovery Channel. He now writes regularly for Smithsonian.com and Next Avenue, a PBS website for people over 50.
He also writes for Foothills Forum, a journalism nonprofit serving a community in rural Virginia. For the past three years, he was awarded first prize in explanatory journalism by the Virginia Press Association for newspaper series on the challenges of rural healthcare, the deficiencies of rural broadband and cell service and the complications of sustaining a farm economy in an aging community.
He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Carol Ryder.
The event is free, open to the public, and accessible to people with disabilities.
For more information, please contact bbl@strollingoftheheifers.com.
–Strolling of the Heifers
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