KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As of October 15, 280 people in Knox County have died this year due to a suspected overdose. That's higher than the number of overdose deaths for all of 2019.
Experts agree it is an epidemic. Groups across our area and across the country are working to provide help and create opportunities to erase the stigma around addiction.
Thursday, October 15 at 5:30, we will take a deeper dive into this problem and the potential solutions. Experts will also answer your questions starting at 6:00 on the WBIR Channel 10 Facebook page. You can text your questions to 865-637-1010.
Here are the full interviews with some of our experts.
Jim Wahlberg - Executive Director, Mark Wahlberg Foundation; author
Karen Pershing - Executive Director, Metro Drug Coalition
Todd Scott - Special Agent in Charge, DEA Louisville Division
Kristen Robinson - Recovery Services Therapist, Village Behavioral Health
Jan McCoy - Mother, lost son to overdose in 2014; recovery advocate
Reico Hopewell - The Mend House Sober Living Community