Since last fall, Liberty University has been directly involved in combatting the opioid crisis that has affected millions. The university kicked its efforts into full gear when First Lady Melania Trump visited Convocation last November for the first broadcast in the television series “Your Voice. Your Future. Opioids: A National Crisis with Eric Bolling.”
The program was followed by 13 more town hall-style events held in different cities across the country. The shows were aired by Sinclair Broadcast Group and featured local and national government leaders, representatives from law enforcement, and those who work in treatment and recovery. Liberty was the main sponsor for four of the events, and members of the university’s administration and faculty served as panelists for several of the live broadcasts.
Bolling, a former Fox News host, lost his 19-year-old son, Eric Chase, to an accidental opioid overdose in 2017 and has used his media platform to join forces to battle the crisis.
Liberty President Jerry Falwell and his wife, Becki, joined Bolling in Charleston, S.C., on Feb. 19 (pictured above). They also participated in the Las Vegas event on March 5, which featured the First Lady, Wayne Newton, David Siegel (president and CEO of Westgate Resorts), and Siegel’s wife, Jackie.
In Las Vegas, President Falwell said that it was after Siegel spoke at Liberty’s Convocation in September 2015 — just a few months after Siegel’s daughter died from an opioid overdose — that he started taking a closer look at how to combat the epidemic, including creating an atmosphere on campus where students are encouraged to get help.
“We implemented a program where students with a problem can self-report without fear of reprisal, without any repercussions at all,” President Falwell said.
Becki Falwell added that as a mother and grandmother, she can’t imagine the pain that families like the Bollings and Siegels have experienced. She said that removing the stigmas around drug problems can help save lives.
School of Business Dean David Brat was a guest for the town hall in Baltimore.
“Everybody just needs to know that it is nothing to be embarrassed about; it’s a medical condition,” she said. “The families and university staff and faculty members need to love on our children. The children need to feel love; they don’t need to worry about going and telling their parents that they have a problem — their parents love them and would rather them be here than have a problem and pass away.”
School of Business Dean Dr. David Brat spoke at the town hall in Baltimore on March 14. Brat served two terms as the U.S. Representative for Virginia’s 7th District (2014-18) and worked on legislation to combat the crisis.
“It’s obvious the Church and the family are going to have to play a key role,” Brat said. “At Liberty University, that is what we do. We live in a faith community; we’re proud of that, and we believe in second chances.”
Dr. David Jenkins speak with Eric Bolling during a town Hall in Little Rock, Ark.
Dr. David Jenkins, Liberty’s director of the Master of Arts in Addiction Counseling program, traveled to the event in Little Rock, Ark., on April 16 to speak about the importance of the Church’s involvement in helping people with drug addiction.
“We need to treat the opioid epidemic like a natural disaster because there is long-term recovery involved,” Jenkins said. “(The Church) can be a safe place where the stigma is dealt with, shame is dealt with, guilt is dealt with. But it’s going to take everyone to be involved with this from the supplier side, the treatment side, to law enforcement, if we’re going to have a long-term outcome.”
