Alabama Department of
Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention
Children’s Trust Fund of Alabama

Events

Alabama Department of
Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention
Children’s Trust Fund of Alabama

News

CTF Sponsors Opioid Prevention Summit

The Children’s Trust Fund sponsored an Opioid Prevention Summit on July 7 at the Ross Bridge Conference Center in Birmingham. Funding for the summit was provided to CTF through Attorney General Steve Marshall as part of the state’s opioid settlement with national manufacturers. Further funding from the settlement is enabling CTF to create a massive public awareness campaign managed by grantee Fowler Davis 4 Change to fight against the negative effects of opioid abuse in Alabama, especially in teens and younger children.

New York Times bestselling author Nic Sheff gave the keynote address at the summit. Sheff’s life story of his hard-fought victory against a painful opioid addiction was not only featured in his memoir Tweak but also in the movie Beautiful Boy starring Steve Carell. Sheff shared much of his painful but inspiring life story with the many attendees during his speech and engaged further with them in a candid question and answer session.

Jeff Davis, the co-founder of Fowler Davis 4 Change, also spoke at the summit to detail the background of the opioid epidemic in Alabama and his plans to fight back through the public awareness campaign, which will include television, radio, and social media spots, along with digital billboards and other outreach elements. The campaign will commence in 2023 once all the implementation phases have been fully planned.

Nationally acclaimed child psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Taylor rounded out the summit by speaking of his experience treating younger patients with opioid addiction issues. Taylor focused on the latest trends in clinical practice, including an emphasis on treating mental health issues in combination with many addiction issues.