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Cynthia Puls joins addiction fight

Cynthia Puls of Parkersburg wants to pull together all the resources in the fight against drug addiction.

Puls is organizing the first of what she hopes are many meetings for a group called Needles in a Haystack. The inaugural meeting, open to the public, will be 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 1 in the Parkersburg High School cafeteria.

She envisions the group being “like a newspaper for what is happening in our area by the incredible organizations and folks working to stamp out addiction in Wood County.”

Puls wants to make information from AA, NA, Al-Anon, Westbrook, funeral homes, Wood County Day Report Center, Wood County Drug Court, hospitals and other resources available in one easy-to-find place to help families facing drug-addiction issues.

Puls, founder and director of The Cello Company, said she couldn’t find help for a family member who was struggling with heroin addiction. She knew there were effective assistance programs out there, but she had a difficult time connecting to them.

It was like finding a needle in a haystack, she said.

She now wants to make it easier for other families to find the help they need in one spot.

Her goal is to connect and educate people. She is open to ideas from the community.

“I am a cellist … not an expert” on drug addiction, Puls said.

She needs volunteers to help her gather information.

Puls is gathering information from organizations that are working with individuals with addictions, their family and friends so these groups can be listed in one place.

Speakers from these organizations are being invited to address the Needles in a Haystack group at the monthly meetings to describe how they are facing the drug issues.

“If you have a loved one that has been incarcerated or have been put on probation, feel that you just don’t know where to turn, want to hear what is happening in our area, or simply would love to reach out and help, then this is the meeting for you,” Puls posted on the group’s Facebook page.

“We need for you to attend this first meeting to show that there is interest in learning about what is happening in our area,” Puls said.

This is not a self-help group, she said.

Puls is afraid some people don’t realize how serious the drug-addiction problem is in this area. A local survey has shown that youth are starting to use drugs at 14 years old, Puls said. Drug overdoses have become a common occurrence.

“Addicts are everywhere,” she said.

Puls noted that NOE Office Equipment of Parkersburg is printing posters and brochures for free in connection with the Needles in a Haystack meeting.

Anyone wanting to help with the group or needing more information can contact Puls at haystackconnections@gmail.com.

* * *

A “Wood County Drug Awareness Informational Meeting” will be held on Thursday, June 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the 14th Avenue Gospel Mission Church at 4124 14th Ave. in south Parkersburg.

Speakers will include Larry Fought, organizer; Rick Woodyard, director of Wood County 911, and Steve Stephens, sheriff of Wood County, said the church in a news release. “The discussion will center on the need for awareness of the drug problem in our community.”

The event is free. Light refreshments will follow in the church fellowship hall. For more information, call 304-488-8321 or the church at 304-428-6314.

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