Each day in our country, nearly 300 people lose their lives to drug overdoses. Our community has been deeply impacted as well. In one month, there were three fatal overdoses linked to opioid drugs, including the tragic loss of a 19-year-old Traverse City Central High School graduate. Overdose deaths now surpass traffic fatalities by nearly two to one.

In 2015, Robert Cooney, the Grand Traverse County Prosecuting Attorney, became concerned by the troubling trends he was seeing. He founded the Grand Traverse County Drug Free Coalition to unite community agencies and individuals in search of solutions. Through his friendship with Judge Linda Davis, Prosecutor Cooney became acquainted with Face Addiction Now and was impressed by the group’s work. He felt strongly that a chapter could be established in Traverse City.

In February 2018, Kathy Jones, a local pharmacist, attended the Michigan Pharmacists Association’s annual convention, where she heard Phil Pavona speak about FAN. Kathy was moved by his message of hope. With her personal experience with addiction and the challenges families face in finding help, Kathy knew many who had lost loved ones to substance use. She felt that bringing a chapter to Traverse City was an opportunity to make a real difference. After hearing Phil’s talk, she called him the following Sunday, and that call marked the beginning of the Grand Traverse Area Face Addiction Now chapter.

Upon her return, Kathy reached out to Prosecutor Cooney to start the process of launching a new chapter. Together, they gathered a dedicated group of individuals. Through his work with the Coalition, Prosecutor Cooney was able to bring together judges, the local school superintendent, the police chief, a psychiatrist specializing in addiction treatment, and the CEOs of local addiction treatment services, as well as family members, recovering individuals, and the local manager of HUD programs. These committed individuals are passionate about working together to create solutions for the challenges facing the Grand Traverse community.