Red Wings’ Ken Daniels to share family opioid tragedy at Livonia Chamber event

His enthusiastic voice has described Red Wings hockey games on television for two decades, but Ken Daniels is also using his voice for a more serious matter these days.
 
Daniels lost his son to an overdose in December 2016, at a time his family thought he was nearing successful completion of an opioid rehabilitation program. Jamie Daniels was only 23 years old.
 
Inspired to use his family’s tragedy to save lives, Ken Daniels started a foundation in his son’s honor and speaks about opioids, its horrors and the importance of getting the addicted to help.
 
Daniels is scheduled to appear and share his message at a Livonia Chamber of Commerce luncheon Feb. 27 at the Schoolcraft College VisTaTech Center. The 11:30 a.m. luncheon is sponsored by St. Mary Mercy Livonia and Growth Works, as both are becoming more involved in the opioid fight in Western Wayne County.
 
“For those who want to judge, and you hope like hell it is not happening in your house, and if it’s not, it is happening two, three doors down because the numbers show it,” Daniels said in an interview with Fox Sports Detroit. “In the U.S., 200 people a day die from an overdose from, in many cases, started from prescription pain medication.
 
“We have to talk about it.”
 
At the Livonia Chamber event, Daniels will talk about hockey, his family, coping with a tragedy, and how to support those dealing with addiction. The audience for this luncheon will feature a collection of business people and high school students.
 
“This is an issue that impacts many families and our businesses right in our backyard,” said Dan West, president of the Livonia Chamber of Commerce. “We are grateful that someone of Ken’s stature and personal passion has made himself available to us to share this important message in the hope of saving people’s lives.”
 
The Chamber, West added, has heard from more business owners who are increasingly concerned about their employees’ mental health and addiction. This event is designed to provide resources to help companies better handle employees who may be dealing with such issue. Growth Works representatives will be at this event to connect people with resources.
 
For more information, contact the Livonia Chamber office at 734.427.2122 or reach Laura Tahmouch at tahmouch@livonia.org.