Families, former users, and officials discuss solutions at opioid crisis townhall in Rockville

Maryland’s Opioid Operational Command Center teamed up with Montgomery County’s Department of Health and Human Services on a town hall to listen to dozens of those impacted by opioids. FOX 5's Jacqueline Matter was there in Rockville for the event.

ROCKVILLE, Md. - Local leaders are trying to tackle the opioid crisis in the DMV.

Seven Marylanders a day are dying due to the opioid epidemic, according to state records.

On Thursday evening, Maryland’s Opioid Operational Command Center teamed up with Montgomery County’s Department of Health and Human Services on a town hall to listen to dozens of those impacted by opioids.

"How many kids do you need to [die] to put a stop to fentanyl?" said one woman in the crowd.

The Montgomery County Council building was filled with faces of those fighting addiction or who have been affected by the opioid crisis.

"2016 was when fentanyl hit the streets hard and that’s when I overdosed and died for eight minutes," said another person.

Beth Kuchar showed up and told the crowd that she had lost a loved one to an overdose.

"I have a son; he was 26 at the time. He passed away from an overdose, his name was Wesley," she said.

She told FOX 5 that Wesley enjoyed hiking and wanted to pursue meteorology but struggled with substance use disorder.

"After four years of sobriety, he slipped up during a very stressful time in his life and discovered fentanyl, and he did not survive."

Kuchar said she was hoping to hear from local and state leaders on how they plan to tackle the growing drug problem.

"It’s important for us to all get together and discuss what exactly we’re dealing with here," she told FOX 5.

Dr. Kisha Davis, Montgomery County's Health Officer, believes it will take an "all hands-on deck approach" to really address the needs of the community.

Maryland’s Opioid Operation Command Center is partnering with local health departments across the state to find ways to intervene in schools.

"This is something that is somewhat new, fentanyl overdoses in schools, and so we need to address it from all angles," said Emily Keller, Maryland’s first special secretary of opioid response.

According to numbers collected by Montgomery County police, fatal overdoses were down 26% in 2022 compared to the year before.

However, overdoses increased for youths in 2022 by nearly 80%, and continue to rise.

"These children are dying every day in the schools," said one person who spoke Thursday night.

"Every time my daughter got sober, she said ‘mama thank you I really needed this,’" said another woman. "Families have to step in all the research shows that when families give up the survival rate of the user goes drastically down."

Recently, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order requiring schools to notify parents of drug-related incidents within 24 hours.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore says he’s leaving it up to schools to decide.

We reached out to Montgomery County and Prince George’s County school districts to find out what their policies are, but they have not yet responded.