Aubrey Howell - Sacramento County Opioid Coalition

Each year, the Sacramento County Opioid Coalition hosts a Fentanyl Awareness and Action Summit. This year the event, which took place on August 15, was held at Sacramento State University where we welcomed over 350 concerned community members to educate, connect, and remember. The all-day event consisted of expert guest speakers whose titles ranged from peer support specialists to EMTs to MAT providers. The presentations covered topics such as reaching diverse communities, providing MAT services to incarcerated people, and stories of loss and lived experience. With over 20 resource tables representing nonprofits and recovery services throughout the Sacramento region, the event was about more than the tragedy of the fentanyl epidemic, it was a day to inspire action and change. Our Gone Too Soon project was also on display, posters with the images of loved ones who have been lost to fentanyl. As the faces of those who we have lost gazed at attendees from the front of the room, it was also a day of remembrance for all that we have lost to substance use. The day was impactful and emotional as we concluded with a call to action and Narcan kits for all those in attendance.  The work I have contributed to at the Sacramento County Opioid Coalition has reaffirmed my commitment to public service in my career. With only two months left in my service year, I am looking toward the future. I plan to continue my work in graduate school while pursuing a career in social work. I realize that this work is challenging, draining, and often thankless. I also know first-hand how difficult it is to feel the impacts of one's work when you are in the middle of it, but as I reflect on the past months with AmeriCorps, I feel confident that I helped someone, somewhere, even if I will never know who or how. To quote the incomparable Jackie Chan, "Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person's life."