Police and residents in Weatherly Borough are ready to have a conversation about heroin and opioid abuse.

On Tuesday, Sgt. Michael Bogart and the Weatherly Police Department brought together people who have seen the epidemic firsthand - people in recovery, people who lost loved ones and authorities.Dozens of community members listened as they shared raw, emotional stories about the effect that heroin has had on their families."I'm really glad for this turnout. It doesn't just affect immediate families, it affects everyone," Carbon County Coroner Robert Miller said.Weatherly native Jessica Balliet shared the story of her brother, Rob, who kicked his addiction to pain pills for more than two years, but tragically relapsed and died.She talked about the stigma that people battling addiction face. While some may have looked at him as just an addict, she said, he left a huge emotional void in her family's lives."If there's anyone out there that thinks that people who do heroin or drugs deserve to die, I feel bad for you. And I wish that you never have to go through anything that I went through, or many people in this town have gone through," she said.Other speakers talked about how they were able to aid their recovery by channeling their energy into helping others.Karalyn Dietrich represented the nonprofit "The Skook Recovers," which gives recovering addicts a positive outlet to share their stories and try to improve their communities. She talked about how addiction took everything from her, including her soul. But today, she's three and a half years clean and a loving mother."Carbon County needs that hope, we need to spread that hope," she said.John Sienkiewicz wasn't an addict, but his daughter, Alexandria, was. She lost her battle with heroin addiction just this April, at 23 years old.He said that her death inspired him to form "Safer Streets for Tamaqua's Little Feet," a nonprofit that helps place people who are addicted into transitional housing. Sienkiewicz said that instead of stigmatizing people with addiction issues, we should be doing what we can to help them."We give them labels. We push them back down. We as a community could continue to do what we're doing - by pushing back against them. Or we could reach out and lend a helping hand," Sienkiewicz said.With the illness of heroin addiction taking so many lives across the country, the legal consequences take a back seat.But Carbon County First Assistant District Attorney Michael Greek talked about how the legal system is responding to heroin. He said that the most effective method has been getting addicts directly into treatment from jail.Miller said he sees the ultimate consequence of heroin on a somewhat regular basis - overdose deaths. So far this year in Carbon County, there have been 10 deaths from overdoses. Last year, there were 18. He emphasized the need for more drug education.Carolee Boyer of the Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission said that number doesn't even take into account the number who died outside of Carbon County, which is estimated to be 15.Boyer explained the services her organization offers - including subsidizing the cost of detox services and inpatient treatment for people who can't afford it. The commission's hotline - 866-824-3578 - is available 24 hours a day. Employees take turns answering overnight calls."That might be the one shot at inpatient, that they may be willing to make the change," she said.Bogart said he wants to continue the dialogue past the first town hall meeting. Anyone looking for more information can contact Weatherly Police at 570-427-4241.