WCTE premieres series focusing on opioid addiction

COOKEVILLE –WCTE Upper Cumberland is premiering a series of two independent documentaries and a town hall all focusing on opioid addiction and its effects. 

“A Journey to Recovery” premierson Thursday, Sept. 26 at 9 p.m. with an encore airing on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 9 p.m. “Bitter Pill: Youth at Risk” premieres on Monday, Sept. 30 at 8:00 p.m. followed immediately at 9 p.m. by a previously recorded town hall which focuses on juvenile opioid addiction. The town hall is moderated by Demetria Kalodimos, a longtime former television journalist in Nashville, and was filmed at Bell Hall on Tennessee Tech’s campus. 

“WCTE was very fortunate to receive funding from the Power of Putnam and the Smith County Drug Coalition to produce ‘A Journey to Recovery,’ a half-hour documentary following personal stories of people who were addicted to opioids. We were also very fortunate to receive funding from the state of Tennessee to produce an one-hour documentary titled, ‘Bitter Pill: Youth at Risk,’ and in conjunction, hold a town hall to bring awareness to a crisis that continues to have devastating consequences in the Upper Cumberland,” said Brent Clark, WCTE’s director of content and digital media. “The timing of these two documentaries and town hall could not come at a better time due to the recent shut down of the Dale Hollow Pharmacy in Celina by Federal Authorities, charging 21 counts to the pharmacist of distributing opioids here in the Upper Cumberland, to help raise awareness to help combat this epidemic.”

There will be a Facebook watch party on Monday, Sept. 30 featuring panel members from the town hall during the premiere of “Bitter Pill: Youth at Risk”and the town hall. For more information about the Facebook watch party, call 931/528-2222or visit wcte.org.

WCTE has served the Upper Cumberland for 40+ years as the region’s premier storyteller and is the only television station in a 75-mile radius of Cookeville. WCTE is a proud strategic partner with educators, health services, government, arts and music organizations across the Upper Cumberland. WCTE is a 501-(c) 3 and is owned and operated by the Upper Cumberland Broadcast Council. WCTE is one of only 350 PBS member stations nationwide. 

Submit your story ideas to the Upper Cumberland Business Journal! via email.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.