Community leaders in Bartholomew County will be kicking off a new effort to stem the heroin and opiate epidemic in the community with an event Wednesday night at The Commons.

The Move the Needle community forum will feature author Sam Quinones, who wrote the book “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic,” seen by many as the definitive history of how we got to the point we now find ourselves.

Nicki Vreeland, the mental health and substance abuse action coordinator for Healthy Communities at Columbus Regional Health talks about Quinones and the effect his book has had.

The event will also feature Dr. Kendall Stewart from southern Ohio.

Vreeland talks about the scope of the problem facing the community.

She also stressed that the community isn’t ignoring the many other drugs wreaking havoc in our area. But those don’t have the lethal side that heroin is exhibiting.

The event will be from 6:39 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday evening at The Commons. It is free and you are encouraged to attend.