“Welcome to Denial,” new PSA urges parents to talk about opioids

Are you living in Denial, Ohio?

A new PSA from The Alcohol Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County (ADAMH), along with business, civic and community partners, which together create the Ohio Opioid Education Alliance, warns parents to not live in denial and talk to their kids about opioids.

The setting of the commercial is a fictional town where parents don’t feel the need to discuss the dangers of hard drugs, citing multiple reasons why:

“Doesn’t happen here.”

“My daughter has good friends.”

“My boys would tell me anything.”

“Our kids are way too busy.”

“He gets amazing grades.”

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But the way ADAMH sees it, every child and teen is a potential victim of the epidemic and the longer parents wait to educate them, the more likely they are to learn about them in an unsafe environment.

The Dispatch reports the Ohio Opioid Education Alliance has received millions of dollars in donations which are used to create more resources for drug prevention.

More businesses and nonprofits are expected to sign onto the effort as time goes on.

Ohio’s opioid epidemic remains among the nation’s worst, with the daily average overdose death tolls per day in 2017 reaching 14.

Franklin County saw a 47 percent increase in overdose deaths from 2016 to 2017.

“Don’t live in denial, Ohio. Talk to your kids about opioids,” the PSA closes with.

The commercial is now streaming on YouTube, Hulu and Roku and will be on television, radio, and billboards later this summer.

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