ISSUED: 15 September 2023
MEDIA CONTACT: Cecelia Mason
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University’s Department of Social and Applied Behavioral Sciences is hosting a virtual criminal justice lecture on Tuesday, September 26, 1:10-2 p.m. titled “Creating Structural Change: The Drug Overdose Fatality Review Commission.” Julia Lawes, MS, executive director of the Delaware Drug Overdose Fatality Review Commission (DOFRC), will discuss how the commission is dealing with the state’s drug overdose problem.
The State of Delaware is at a critical point in its opioid epidemic. More than 500 individuals died from a fatal overdose in 2022, placing Delaware at the third-highest overdose death rate per capita in the United States. DOFRC is committed to examining underlying facts and causes of overdose deaths in Delaware and developing system-wide and evidence-based facts, findings, and recommendations. The Commission’s work is slowly changing the landscape and the conversation around the opioid epidemic, but the work is only beginning.
Lawes has more than two decades of experience in government administration, policy development and analysis, substance use disorder research, and program development. With more than 11 years of sobriety, Lawes is also in long-term recovery.
The lecture is free and open to the public. To access the link, visit the Criminal Justice Lecture Series webpage.
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