Dear Neighbors and Friends,
Recently, the Village provided a forum in our Recreation Center for a workshop on dealing with the Opioid Crisis and Human Trafficking. The event was sponsored by the Suffolk County Village Officials Association (SCVOA); an organization that the Village is a member of, and I am on the Executive Board.
The event was attended by an assortment of local leaders from across Suffolk County with very experienced and informed guest speakers. We were honored to have our Suffolk County Police Commissioner, Geraldine Hart, Suffolk County District Attorney, Timothy D. Sini, and Suffolk County Sheriff, Errol Toulon Jr as the primary speakers. These three dedicated people alternately spoke and certainly opened our eyes and made us very aware of how closely the two topics are related.
Most human trafficking is a direct result of young women becoming addicted to these drugs and making them dependent on their suppliers. These women, when incarcerated, are identified more as victims than criminals.
Many young men, as we know, are also victims, believing that they will not be the ones who will become dependent on these very addictive drugs, or even worse, become a statistic.
We need to make everyone aware of the dangers of not only those drugs purchased on the streets, but also those that may be prescribed and taken legally or just sitting on the shelves in our medicine cabinets.
All those present received a vast amount of knowledge and literature on dealing with the challenges of these prevalent issues and how they are being dealt with everyday by those providing the material.
The statistics are in our favor, as the number of fatalities and incidents are decreasing with each passing year. It is my hope that the evening provided us all with the knowledge we need as village, town, fire districts, and other officials to assist in bringing these numbers down even further.
Please contact us at Village Hall if you are aware of any organization; PTA, fire district, or any other group that might want to put together a meeting to discuss these issues or simply to pick up literature at the Village.
I know that we will make a difference in Lake Grove and across Suffolk County.
Special thanks to all that attended and especially to our guest speakers who gave their time to help make us more educated on these extremely important topics. These three dedicated people are working twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year. We are very fortunate to have such qualified people working for us and with us.
Very Truly Yours,
Robert (Bob) Scottaline
