Families Against Narcotics Launching In TC Thursday

Ken Kauffman says his son became addicted to opiates after he was given them for a dental procedure and he struggled for years, getting clean and relapsing, going into treatment and falling out of it, before he died of a heroin overdose three years ago at the age of 26.

Kauffman, who moved to Traverse City two years ago, says he wishes there would have been somewhere he could have turned to as a parent of a child suffering from opiate addiction, and that’s why he is one of the founding directors of the Families Against Narcotics (FAN) – Grand Traverse Area Chapter.

“It’s something that I wish would have been around when we found out our son was addicted to opiates,” Kauffman says.

Grand Traverse County Prosecuting Attorney Bob Cooney said at a press conference Monday at the Robert P. Griffin Hall of Justice (pictured) that the purpose of FAN is to provide education and support to people suffering from addiction and their loved ones. FAN started downstate and has grown to 22 chapters, with this being the first one in northern Michigan.

Cooney says that to say that the region is in the midst of an opiate epidemic might be an understatement – for instance, a 27-year-old Kingsley man died last week of a heroin overdose in Traverse City. In February alone, three people died of overdoses in the county, including a 19-year-old mother of a young child.

FAN will hold a kickoff event in Traverse City Thursday (June 21) for anyone interested in opiate addiction, and for those who suffer from or whose loved ones suffer from opiate addiction. The free event will feature speaker Hon. Linda Davis, a Macomb County district court judge who started FAN and is the chair of Gov. Snyder’s Opioid and Prescription Drug Commission. The event will feature snacks and will take place from 5:15pm until 8pm at the Central United Methodist Church at 222 North Cass Street. To RSVP, email renae.fogarty@gmail.com.