Jade Watford and Allison Swygert were the speakers at “A Culture in Crisis – A Hope for the Future.” The seminar was held Saturday at Mt. Hebron Methodist Church in West Columbia. It was to help families dealing with mental health and substance abuse issues.

West Columbia Police Chief Marion Boyce, LCSD Lt. Robby Lent and Dr. Pam Imm of LRADAC were also on hand.
Lent said overdose deaths have spiked in Lexington County since 2017.

Link to Taylor Watford Foundation website

“We’re starting to see a lot more overdoses,” Lent said. There were 16 overdose deaths in the county in February.

Watford spoke about mental health resources to deal with issues ranging from anxiety and panic disorder to depression to suicide prevention.

Swygert spoke of the fatal threat of Fentanyl and she said there are much more deadly drugs being pushed through the Southern border by drug cartels.

Imm brought free samples of Narcan. It’s a nasal spray used to reverse the impact of an overdose. She demonstrated how to use Narcan. Lent said the increased rate of Narcan is helping fight the overdose death rate.

The Taylor Watford Foundation was founded in 2019 in memory of Taylor Watford, who passed in December 2018 of an overdose. Since then the TWF has raised over $40,000 to fight substance abuse