Over 70 people with law enforcement and advocatcy backgrounds gathered at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville for the Regional Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (RASAP) Opioid Summit.

RASAP Conference Committee Chair Brian Price says the purpose of the event is to give people the knowledge and tools to fight the opioid crisis.

"We hear about the opioid epidemic all the time and we want to make sure people have they correct information, let them know what's going one and how it can effect you." said Price.

Prices says while the numbers at events and programs like the summit are still on the rise, the results are yet to be seen in communities.

Last year, there were 2,446 heroin arrests made in the state. In 2017, over fourteen hundred Virginians died from an opioid overdose, continuing the trend of rising numbers.

Still Price says those number do not represent the number of people impacted by the crisis.

"We are trying to make sure that people understand the stigma, there's a stigma attached to the epidemic but it is something that impacts everyone." said Price.