Mount Pleasant Magazine May/June 2019

53 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.BestOfMP.com | www.ReadMPM.com feature call my parents and tell them I wasn’t coming home,” she said. “This man couldn’t offer me what my family offers me. When I had the opportunity, I ran.” CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE Sexual abuse can be a complicated subject, according to attorney Gregg Meyers, a member of a panel facilitated by local TV personality Dean Stephens. Alexandra Desch, forensic nursing coordinator with the Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center, noted that the abuser is not always a stranger. “It’s difficult for everyone in the family. It’s very complicated for a child and even for adults. It’s a very complicated issue,” said Carol Hogue, program quality assurance specialist with Darkness to Light, an organization dedicated to ending the sexual abuse of children. Pointing out just how complicated this issue can be, Meyers related a story about a school counselor who suspected that a child was being sexually abused. In an effort to help, the counselor offered to call the police. “The message was, ‘We will help.’ But what the kid heard was, ‘If he tells, he’ll get arrested,’” Meyers said. “These people tend to find a way to put themselves in positions to get access to children,” said Kathy Gill- Hopple, a forensic nursing coordinator at the Medical University of South Carolina, while Hogue added that parents must always be observant and knowledgeable, paying special attention to people who regularly show up at children’s activities, even though they don’t have a child with them. “Trust everybody and trust nobody,” Meyers added. “Always be assessing who is paying attention to our children. If kids get in trouble in school, pay attention to who steps forward to help.” According to Mount Pleasant Police Department Detective Danny Neese, whenever a case of child sexual abuse is reported, the department’s most important concern is the safety of the child. OPIOIDS AND SUBSTANCE MISUSE According to Mount Pleasant Police Department Sgt. Tony Winstead, the opioid crisis has exploded among both kids and adults. He said overdosing was “unheard of ” in 2013. By 2018, the department had reported 58 ODs and eight deaths — “and that’s just the ones we know of,” Winstead said. “It’s a whole new arena. It’s not like the drugs (people were doing) in the ’70s and ’80s,” Stephens said. Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson pointed out that some people might be turning to Narcan, which is used to treat a known or suspected opioid overdose, as a crutch, but Winstead pointed out that “if we have the opportunity to save a life, we’re going to save a life. We’re not going to arrest our way out of this problem.” Mount Pleasant Police Chief Carl Ritchie added that kids have died because someone was afraid to dial 911. “They are afraid to be arrested,” he said. “We’re not coming to arrest you. We’re coming to save your life.” “Just having Narcan in the house allows them to sleep a little easier at night,” said Abby Foster, who is with WakeUp Carolina, adding that the organization makes the