BERKELEY – In the face of the persisting opioid epidemic in the Ocean County area, Berkeley Township Police are encouraging parents and residents to join them for the Hidden in Plain Sight Seminar on Jan. 30 at 6 p.m.

At Central Regional High School, parents and township officials will gather to discuss how closely tragedy lies beneath the surface for our youth, and what we might do to prevent it from occurring.

Featuring hands on demonstrations of what could be “hidden in plain sight” in a child’s room, as well as personal testimony, this seminar will teach parents about the slippery slope of drug abuse from an experienced perspective.

“The truth is most of us as parents oftentimes may overlook the obvious signs of drug use because we simply don’t know what to look for,” stated Police Chief Karin DiMichele in a department release.

Ocean County and New Jersey state officials have been battling hard against the opioid crisis in recent years, working against the rising death toll that is a result of opioid abuse by all ages. According to police, an individual is now statistically more likely to die from an opioid overdose than from a car accident.

“We as a community need to continue to use every resource available to prevent and combat this epidemic. One of these resources is education,” the release stated.

Hidden in Plain Sight is just one way to combat the epidemic using education. Berkeley Township Police urges parents and those concerned for our youth to come out and take a deeper look at what is right before our eyes, every day.

“Whether it is through the endless pursuit of drug dealers or through our collaboration with our school systems, neighboring towns and agencies or through our community outreach and social media initiatives, we know our greatest weapon in this fight is strong interaction and cooperation with our residents,” stated police.

Hidden in Plain Sight will be held at CRHS on Jan. 30, 6 p.m.

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