Lisa Wolf is the Director of Prevention for the Center for Humanistic Change. What an interesting concept Lisa explained during her presentation on Thursday morning. Opioids such as Oxycodone, Tramadol etc are being prescribed by physicians for people who have just come out of surgery to relieve the effects of pain. But what happens after the pain is gone but the enjoyment of the pain killer is not. This was part of her presentation. Opioids are expensive but Herion is not expensive but can have similar effects on the human body.
She told the story of three young people of which two were Athletes. The athletes had minor surgeries and the teenagers were prescribed pain medication to help with the pain. Eventually the pain went away but the addiction for the pain killer did not. Both of the athletes and the other teenager died from an overdose. Some of the overdose was from what the heroin was laced with (Fentanyl). Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic drug equal to 50 times one dose of morphine. It is used in surgeries in very small amounts. Black market drugs, such as Heroin are laced with this drug and make them more powerful on the human body. Probably what happened to these three individuals from what we were told.
Lisa's talk helped us understand one of the ways to counter act this new wave of Heroin in our society is through education. Educate our most vulnerable populace our children. However, heroin addiction is not limited to any social or economic group. The best way the Center for humanistic change has found to combat heroin and other addictions is through education of not only the children but the parents, police, and the judicial system.
Lisa is a graduate of Lehigh University and DeSales University where she received her Masters in Education. Center for Humanistic change is CHC is dedicated to the philosophy that people learn best by doing. They are grounded in the humanistic approach to education, which means they believe that learning is most effective when it engages the whole person--head, heart, and hands.
Their programs focus on helping people of all ages learn to make healthy decisions and increase their resiliency for managing change and life's challenges. Their educational philosophy has its roots in four major disciplines:
Education
Psychology
Group Dynamics
Drug & Alcohol Prevention Education
CHC's holistic, humanistic approach to education engages the whole person. They strive to help people develop their mental, emotional, and behavioral abilities to the fullest. CHC programs are dynamic--Their participants learn through discussions, role-plays, art and writing projects, and other activities.
Humanistic education emphasizes the link between what is learned and how it applies to daily life. "Humanistic change" is the process of developing our personal assets and strengths, and using them to make conscious, responsible choices in our lives.
If you would like more information please visit the website for the Center for Humanistic Change: www.thechc.org
