IN THE NEWS
Efforts to battle Opioid Crisis"Starting to Pay off' in Will County Officials Say.
By Susan DeMar Lafferty
The number of opioid-related deaths has risen steadily in Will County in the past few years, but officials at a forum on the problem said progress has been made in tackling what they called a “public health crisis.”
In 2017, the Will County coroner’s office recorded its highest number of deaths related to heroin and fentanyl (a more potent synthetic opioid) — 85, up from 78 the previous year.
“It is easy to get discouraged, but progress has been made. Your work has started to pay off. You have saved lives,” said Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.
To view the full Chicago Tribune article click here.
Romeoville Based Summit Addresses the Opioid Epidemic
By Alex Ortiz
Experts, public officials, law enforcement, volunteers and survivors came together Friday for the HERO and HELPS Summit on the opioid epidemic in Will County and across the state.
Organizers held the event at the Edward Hospital Athletics and Event Center in Romeoville. The Heroin Epidemic Relief Organization and Will County Heroin Education Leads to Preventative Solutions, in conjunction with the Southwest Coalition for Substance
Abuse Issues, hosted the program.
The event kicked off with a resource fair that featured numerous local agencies and organizations, including Soft Landing Recovery, the Will County Health Department and the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery, which all help with recovery.
To read the full Northwest Herald article click here.
