We’re No. 1.

We’re No. 1.

We’re No. 1.

It does not have the same meaning when it is something bad we are good at being.

We had so much joy when we were known as the home of Kellie Pickler, the “American Idol” contestant turned celebrity, or as home of five high schools who have claimed multiple state championships.

But to be No. 1 for opioid overdoses, that is something that should not be celebrated.

However, it is something that deserves just as much attention.

As such, The Stanly News & Press began a series dedicated to bringing this topic to the spotlight.

We want to share what the problem is, how it became so bad, what treatments are available for addiction.

Over the coming months, we will analyze where we are and help local health advocates and law enforcement as they forecast a way to a better future.

But the big question we have is this.

Do you care?

It seems some people do not care if others live or die.

We get it. They chose that life, right? They made their bed, let them lie in it, right?

But as Roger Hudson put it during Monday night’s county commission meeting, you don’t know until you are put in this situation. His son Will’s death by overdose changed his way of thinking, as it changed his life forever.

We have a chance to change the future of this county.

But we need your help. The people who overdose daily need your help.

Send us your ideas to help this series. Let us know any resources we may not be thinking about. Recommend names of people who are helping save lives or individuals who are in recovery.

We need to join forces as a united community to battle this opioid epidemic.

Just like when our cities banded together in support of the one-fourth cent sales tax increase to benefit schools, we need our governments, our health agencies and big business to step up. We need to keep politics out of this and work for the common good.

We can’t wait any longer to help. The time is now.