An upcoming series of roundtable discussions entitled “Wake Up Austin!” will focus on the impact of drug use in the community, especially heroin and prescription drugs.

The public forums will be held at 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 24, Nov. 14 and Dec. 12 at Knowlton Auditorium at Austin High School. A question and answer time will be held during each session.

The sessions are designed to provide information on drug use in the Austin community, said organizer Chris Lukes. She is the founder of Circle of Hope, a support group for families whose members are addicted to drugs.

“Our drug problem is not just for law enforcement to deal with; education is needed for our best chance at preventing drug abuse,” said Lukes.

The sessions will provide roundtable discussion by several members of law enforcement, judicial and counseling segments of the community, as well as those in recovery.

The first session will include Capt. Dave McKichan of the Austin Police Department; Deb Schmitt, a Mower County probation officer; Bill Spitzer, planning and implementation coordinator of a five-year grant whose focus is the reduction of drug use; and Thor Bergland, Austin High School counselor and teacher who worked closely with the REACH drug prevention program at the high school.

The second session will feature the showing of the FBI/DEA-produced “Chasing the Dragon,” a 45-minute video that focuses on prescription drug and heroin use. A FBI agent from the Rochester office will serve as moderator.

The last session, still in the planning stage, will feature discussion by two mothers whose children battle with addiction.

Lukes said drug use “isn’t just your problem or my problem, it’s everybody’s problem,” and cited recent deaths caused by drug overdoses.

“It is time to take our town back,” she said.

The series is sponsored by Circle of Hope, Austin Community Education and Austin Area Drug Task Force.

A similar community forum was held June 3. For a story on that forum, visit www.austindailyherald.com/2016/06/wake-up-austin-community-forum-opens-discussion-on-drug-abuse/