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CUMBERLAND — Cumberland Police Cpl. Jeremy Hedrick witnessed firsthand the harm the opioid epidemic was having on the group he vowed to guard and serve and determined to do one thing about it.
In 2014 and 2015, Hedrick seen a change taking place on the streets, together with lethal overdoses and the legal exercise that comes with opioid abuse and the trafficking of narcotics. Though he had been battling the epidemic on the entrance traces as a part of the police division’s narcotics unit, in 2016 he took a job within the colleges as a useful resource officer. It was there he realized he might attain younger individuals and educate them on the hazards of opioids earlier than they discovered it the fallacious manner.
Hedrick’s years of labor received the eye of Gov. Larry Hogan and on Monday he obtained a Governor’s Quotation, offered by Western Maryland subject consultant Mark Widmyer.
“It’s an important award for Corporal Hedrick to indicate the appreciation for all he does and all that he has executed within the faculty system even previous to changing into a college useful resource officer,” mentioned Ben Brauer, director of Title IX for Frostburg State College and former supervisor of scholar companies and faculty security for Allegany County Public Colleges. “With the opioid epidemic that we’ve had and at present have, he stepped up and put some issues in place within the colleges that made a distinction with our children effectively past what we even know.”
A number of the applications Hedrick created embody bringing drug customers to talk to college students about habit and developing with fundraisers to buy training supplies.
“In earlier years, the children didn’t see it a lot,” Hedrick mentioned. “However, with extra of it displaying up the children have been speaking to us extra of possibly seeing the dad and mom and stuff with needles, so we tried to clarify to them in regards to the uncomfortable side effects and the long-term (affect) and what we are able to do to assist them.
“I began doing a number of issues with bringing addicted individuals in to speak to the children on how they received addicted. Everybody had the thought of what a drug person or addict seemed like. Lots of people that I introduced in have been very match and all the pieces else.”
Working instances, Hedrick mentioned, “I noticed we have been coping with the identical individuals again and again and my thought was if I might attain them at an early age I won’t cope with them in a while in life. I inform them that they’re one determination away from altering the remainder of their life.”
With the help of a number of different officers and group leaders, Hedrick began the Prescribe Change 4-Mile Run and One Mile Stroll to boost cash to buy instructional supplies. That cash helped pay for booklets used within the classroom in recent times.
In 2019, Hedrick was the keynote speaker for the Opioid Operation Command Heart Youth Prevention and Intervention Summit, which was attended by regulation enforcement and educators from throughout the state. He’s additionally a Drug Abuse Resistance Training officer, successful the 2019 Dare Hero Award. He has educated regulation enforcement in Garrett and Montgomery counties on figuring out unlawful medication and the position of a useful resource officer.
Widmyer offered the quotation in entrance of quite a few fellow law enforcement officials, educators, Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss and Metropolis Council members at Allegany Excessive College.
“He has additionally received an award from his personal individuals for his work and we wished to comply with it up with the Governor’s Quotation,” Widmyer mentioned. “The governor very a lot appreciates all first responders and actually what our law enforcement officials do. They get little or no thanks for what they do.”
Morriss mentioned, “We’re all pleased with Jeremy and all the pieces he has executed. Being a SRO is a critically vital job to assist shield our youth and be a great position mannequin and Jeremy does an important job. It’s so vital to get the younger individuals earlier than they’ve been uncovered to any of those Class I medication and that’s why what Jeremy is doing is essential.”
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