Partnership hosts conference

Staff Reports

Nevada first lady Dawn Gibbons will make the opening remarks for the Partnership for Community Resources third annual conference on addiction.

The conference will be held 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Aug. 17 at the Carson Valley Inn Conference Center and is entitled "Addiction ... Losing the Ability to Walk Away."

Douglas County school counselor Carly Strauss, who served on the conference planning committee, said addiction is a puzzle for many people.

"I think addiction is something that most people really struggle to understand fully, Strauss said. "It is so hard to wrap your mind around it unless you have been addicted personally. This conference being offered by the partnership will offer a lot of insight into many different aspects of addiction. There will be information for anyone who has ever struggled with addiction and information for anyone who has known anyone who has struggled with addiction, which means there will be something for all of us."

Findings to be presented at the conference include:

-- Addiction is a brain disease and has nothing to do with willpower.

-- Alcohol costs the U.S. economy as estimated $134 billion per year in lost productivity and earnings due to alcohol-related illness, premature death, and crime.

-- Nearly 2.8 million people 50 or older have used one or more illicit substances in the last year, 16 percent may have a drug dependence problem.

-- The risk factors for addiction may include genetic and environmental factors such as stress and availability.

-- This conference is recommended for medical professionals, mental health professionals, teachers, school counselors, Court-Appointed Special Advocates, parents, employers, service club members, paramedics, law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, social service professionals, seniors, and community prevention professionals.

To register contact Linda Gilkerson at the Partnership of Community Resources (775) 782-8611. pcrgilkerson@partnership-resource.org.