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Today’s Interview: Town hall meeting in Lexington will discuss the opioid crisis in the Black community

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Lexington residents are being invited to a town hall meeting hosted by Councilwoman Denise Gray. The topic will be the opioid crisis in the Black community. Gray is partnering with the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission and local faith leaders.

Councilwoman Gray wants to use this town hall meeting to let officials hear directly how it is impacting the Black community.

“I want to hear from individuals who are currently in the midst of addiction, I want to hear from individuals who are in recovery, I want to hear from families who have been the caregiver or watched their loved ones go through addiction and recovery.”

Oftentimes, poor, rural, white communities are shown as the face of the opioid epidemic. Lexington City Councilwoman Denise Gray said it is a serious problem in the Black community and people need to pay attention.

“No one ever thought it was an issue for us, African Americans, they thought, more so, the issue was still crack cocaine. That is no longer the issue, meth is running rampant within the community, also we have fentanyl.”

The town hall meeting is Tuesday evening at 6 at Consolidated Baptist Church on Russel Cave.

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Stan Ingold is WEKU's News Director. He has worked in public broadcasting for 18 years, starting at Morehead State Public Radio before spending the past 10 years at Alabama Public Radio. Stan has been honored with numerous journalism awards for his public radio reporting.