A photo of Natalie Ciappa is seen at the "Not...

A photo of Natalie Ciappa is seen at the "Not my Child" benefit, Sunday. Ciappa died of a heroin overdose in 2008.(March 28, 2010) Credit: Craig Ruttle

St. Joseph’s College and WALK-FM 97.5 will co-host a community forum on the rise of suburban heroin abuse.

Panelists will include representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Nassau County district attorney's Street Narcotics and Gangs Bureau, Eastern Suffolk BOCES, the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, and Doreen and Victor Ciappa, the parents of a Natalie Ciappa, a Massapequa teen who died of a heroin overdose in 2008.

The panel will discuss the rise of drug use, particularly heroin, among young people on Long Island.

The free event is May 3 at St. Joseph’s Patchogue campus. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Find out more

Extra: Newsday's heroin coverage

A photo of the late Natalie Ciappa, who died of a heroin overdose in 2008, highlights the raffle prize table at the second annual Natalie Ciappa "Not My Child" benefit concert at Mulcahy's in Wantagh. (Photo by Craig Ruttle / March 28, 2010)

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