jews d in the continued from page 16 A Community Conversation On Th e Opioid Epidemic Temple Israel presents the Alicia Joy Techner Memorial Parenting Conference. T he opioid epidemic affecting the entire Metro Detroit community will be the subject of the annual Alicia Joy Techner Memorial Parenting Conference Wednesday, March 7, at Temple Israel. Held since 1979, the Alicia Joy Techner Memorial Parenting Conference seeks to bring the Southeast Michigan community together for public conversations about modern parenting challenges. The series is sponsored by Ilene and David Techner of Birmingham in memory of their beloved daughter Alicia, and is open to the community and presented at no cost for attendees (though advance registration is requested). Ken Daniels Detroit Red Wings TV announcer Ken Daniels, who lost his son Jamie to addiction, will speak at the event, entitled “If Only I Had Known.” It is designed to share personal stories from a variety of perspectives so par- ents can feel more informed, empow- ered and educated about the opioid crisis and how it is undoubtedly Steve Feldman affecting families they know. Other scheduled speakers include Steve Feldman, COO of Feinberg Consulting/Feinberg Addiction Services; West Bloomfield Police Chief Michael Patton; and the Hon. Edward Sosnick, Oakland County Circuit Court Judge (retired). “Alicia Joy Techner would have Chief Michael been 40 years old last year,” said David Patton Techner, funeral director at the Ira Kaufman Chapel in Southfield. “Ilene and I take great pride in knowing that the community members who will benefit from this conference would have been Alicia’s peers and friends, alongside her siblings. These resourc- es, in her memory, will help them with the balance of challenge and reward Hon. Edward that comes from the parenting experi- Sosnick ence.” Kari Provizer, director of the Robert Sosnick Family Life Center at Temple Israel, said, “We appreciate the Techners stepping forward to make possible an event that will call atten- tion to a community crisis that is still not achieving enough attention.” The free event begins at 7 p.m. David Techner at Temple Israel, located at 5725 Walnut Lake Road, just east of Drake Road, in West Bloomfield. Registration is requested via Kate Boman at (248) 661-5700 or kate@temple-israel.org. • 18 March 1 • 2018 jn Jade Marx at the motel where she’s staying ANTHONY LANZILOTE “I’m hopeful because she’s alive. Where there’s life, there’s hope.” — JILL SHERMAN MARX worse if I went back to using. “My life has made a complete 180 in the right direction. I have not felt this healthy, both mentally and physically, in the past eight years,” he adds. “I am now back to working as an active lawyer and look forward to the rest of my life. I want to leave this chapter of my life behind me; however, I never want to forget it either because it’s what has got- ten me to this point.” JADE’S STORY Jade Marx, 21, grew up with her twin brother and two younger siblings in West Bloomfield. She was a typical kid, involved in BBYO, at Temple Israel and had her bat mitzvah. She was an amazing athlete, excelling at softball. She’s been struggling with addiction since she was 13. Her parents enrolled her in Frankel Jewish Academy her sophomore year after she had been hanging out with a rough crowd the year before at North Farmington High. “Her brother was already there. We thought putting her in FJA would be the magic,” says her mom, Jill Sherman Marx, who works as a fitness instructor. Soon after, Marx got a phone call from the school social worker because Jade was self-harm- ing, cutting. “I knew about this behavior from one of my clients,” Marx says. “I understood it was a self-sooth- ing behavior, but I was horrified that my daughter was doing it.” A short time later, Jade threat- ened suicide. That began a vicious cycle of numerous visits to the ER and mental hospitals. Jill Sherman Marx Jade admitted to using drugs, and her problems continued to grow worse. During her senior year, she got in trouble with the police and was sentenced to pro- bation, drug classes and com- munity service but wasn’t taking it seriously, her mom says. “I knew we had to get her help, but there were no inpatient Darrell Marx treatment centers in Michigan that would take a 17-year-old,” Marx says. She and her former husband, Darrell Marx, found a treatment center in Hawaii willing to take their daughter. It was a 30-month program. “I can’t tell you how agonizing it was to send my child away for 30 months, but it was the only way I could help her,” she says.