HERO - the Heroin Epidemic Relief Organization, was founded in 2010 by two fathers after losing teenage sons to a heroin overdose. HERO is often credited with being the first organization in the nation to correctly identify and the growth and spread of the abuse of opioids and heroin as an "epidemic".
HERO's primary mission has always been to provide help and support to families. After personally witnessing the devastating affects to their own families, John Roberts and Brian Kirk founded the organization and began offering Grief Support and counseling to families who had lost a loved on to a drug overdose, They next launched their Family Support Program which makes available the advice and guidance of a certified drug counselor at no cost to families who are struggling to save the life of a loved one stricken by drug addiction.
Over the last ten years, HERO has become widely recognized as a leader in the field and for their staunch fight to stop the epidemic. HERO helped write and get new legislation passed, such as the Emergency Medical Services Act. This life-saving legislation was passed in 2011, and Illinois became just the fourth state in the nation to offer limited immunity from prosecution when a person calls 9-1-1 to summon medical assistance during an overdose event. This law, known as the "Good Samaritan Bill", gives the caller and the person who overdosed, limited immunity from arrest and prosecution for drug possession. HERO also provided support and assistance in the writing and passage of the Illinois Heroin Crisis Act, which was sponsored and written by Illinois State Representative Lou Lang.
HERO has led many community outreach initiatives to make communities In Illinois and numerous other states, aware of the health crisis that was growing and spreading across the nation. HERO has been visiting schools on a regular basis and spoken to tens of thousands of Illinois high school and middle school students. HERO has also attended many PTA meetings, conferences and community events to provide drug education to parents. HERO developed a unique "adult drug education" program by building out an 18 foot trailer as a mock up of a teenagers bedroom. Inside the "Hidden In Plain Sight" trailer, parents are asked to look for signs of possible substance abuse by locating the numerous items of "mock drugs" and drug paraphernalia are hidden in the trailer - in plain sight.
HERO has won the admiration and support of parents and political leaders across Illinois for their tireless and unremitting battle to end the opioid epidemic.