Hinsdale, IL –Dr. Abdel Fahmy, CEO and Chief Medical Officer at Soft Landing Recovery, has been working in opioid addiction treatment for 15 years. Throughout his years as an addiction specialist, Fahmy has dedicated himself to increasing public understanding of addiction and easing the pain of the addicted and their families. This month, Soft Landing committed $35,000 to the Robert Crown Center for Health Education to use in its fight against the opioid epidemic that has resulted in an increasing number of deaths in Chicago and its suburbs. Fahmy said that, at this juncture, the next step in his life’s work was to take a step forward by taking one step back: stopping the problem before it starts.
“We must prevent the disease from spreading further and save our kids and communities,” Fahmy stated. “Once the disease of addiction occurs, everyone suffers. Education is the only way out of this crisis.”
The funds donated by Fahmy and Soft Landing Recovery will fund opioid pain pill and heroin prevention in Lake County middle and high schools. Fahmy said, “local government and law enforcement in Lake County have acted proactively against the epidemic,” but the heroin death toll has continued to rise.
“Unfortunately, the addiction that already exists in our communities will keep me busy for the rest of my working life,” he said. “I can help addicts to have a normal life, but the disease will never go away. I feel that the next important way that I can make a difference is through prevention education.”
The Robert Crown Center for Health Education’s Opiod-Heroin Prevention Program, which is based in recent research and proven prevention practices, has twice been piloted and evaluated with 11 schools. Program evaluations, performed by Ryerson Espino Evaluation & Development, noted that student recipients of the program experienced a positive change in resistance behaviors related to heroin use.
The program meets teens in an interactive, online space, using social media messages and visual images to create a video game-like experience wherein student recipients are at ease working through role play and social-emotional skill building exercises.
The Soft Landing donation will enable the Robert Crown Center to provide this program–along with its associated teacher training, lesson plans, parent materials, and reinforcement exercises—at no cost to 10 schools. Currently, four Lake County schools – a total of 500 students—have been committed to receiving the program.
For further information about the Robert Crown Center for Health Education and its programs, please contact: Katherine Leibforth at 630-325-1900 x 212 or kleibforth@robertcrown.org. For information about Dr. Fahmy and Soft Landing Recovery visithttp://softlandingrecovery.com.