By Mary O’KEEFE

The Crescenta Valley Substance Misuse Prevention Coalition/CV Cares is continuing with its Summer Speaker Series. The first part of the series began in June with a presentation by Carmela Tunzi, founder Sherman Oaks Hypnosis. Tunzi gave a demonstration of how hypnosis is used in everyday life and pointed out that many people, including athletes, practice a form of self-hypnosis as they prepare to go onto the field or court.

She was also able to demonstrate, with an audience member, how to take a negative feeling and move it into a positive realm.

On July 23 at St. Luke’s of the Mountains Episcopal Church’s Sadler Hall the speaker series will continue with Glendale Police Detective Guillermo “G” Jimenez and Sona Hovsepian, clinical program director for Glendale’s Substance Abuse and Wellness Resource Program.

The presentation will focus on the dangers of fentanyl use, narcotic awareness and the dangers of narcotic use. Also discussed will be Glendale’s Wellness Resource Program and how its resources are set to support individuals and families.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It is a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CV Coalition is a project under the Chace Taylor Malone Impact Foundation LA (IFLA), which was founded by Chace’s friends and his mother Victoria Malone. IFLA created a Resource Partners Catalog of Professional Services including services that include psychiatry, therapy and hypnotherapy as well as well-being services addressing subjects like yoga, acupuncture, nutrition and much more. Malone lost her son Chace to an accidental overdose involving fentanyl. Her mission through IFLA is to honor her son’s memory and to do everything she can to help individuals and families so they do not have to face the tragedy she has faced.

“The speaker series offers professionals who are speaking on topics that are important to understand and be informed about. We hope that the community gets answers to questions they may have for these very serious topics. Most importantly they get answers and guidance from legitimate resource professionals,” Malone said.

She added children are welcome to the speaker events, hopefully with the permission and guidance from their parents.

“We encourage families to attend these events together. Families can hear from the professionals and hopefully this will open up opportunities for family dialogue around these topics,” she said.

Fentanyl use and overdoses are a concern for all communities. According to the Los Angeles Dept. of Public Health, accidental fentanyl overdose deaths increased 1,652% from 109 in 2016 to 1,910 in 2022. From 2016 to 2021, fentanyl overdose Emergency Dept. visits increased 621% from 133 to 959 visits, and fentanyl overdose hospitalizations increased 225% from 102 and 332 cases.

Malone said she feels this talk is important for all to hear.

“My personal opinion is that it is important for teens and young adults to hear this information,” she said. “From our personal family experience, we spoke about what we knew, which at the time had its limitations. Our family was not aware of all the ways in which a person’s well-being affects and is affected by their physical experiences. We did not have resources, let alone local resources, that might have guided us through struggles Chace was going through. And we did not have the various resources to learn from, get good sound guidance nor help for him and those in our family who were being affected in ways we could not see.”

Part of IFLA and the Coalition includes a youth sector called ambassadors. During a recent meeting, high school students shared their concern about vaping. Det. G and Hovsepian will also be covering vaping during the July 23 event.

The Summer Speaker Series is free to the public. Sadler Hall is located at St. Luke’s of the Mountains at 2563 Foothill Blvd. Parking is on the street or the parking lot can be accessed off Cross Street. The event begins at 6 p.m.

Future speakers for the series include: Aug. 27 – the speaker will be Dr. Annie Varvaryan, licensed clinical psychologist and co-owner of Couch Conversations in Montrose. The title of her conversation is “Do Your Thoughts Affect Your Life? A Psychologist’s Take on How to Overcome Unhelpful Thoughts.” Then on Sept. 24 Kristen Gilliland, PhD. in organic chemistry and CVHS alumna, will be speaking. The title of her talk is “The Impact of Stress on Substance Use on the Developing Brain.”