AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/tag/opioid/)
The Chicago Police Department has expanded its narcotics arrest diversion program to the 15th District in Austin. It helps individuals apprehended for opioid-related offenses by allowing them to seek treatment when they’re arrested.
The West Side Heroin/Opioid Task Force will meet from 1 to 3 p.m. March 6 at Lawndale Christian Health Center, 4750 W. Ogden Ave. State Rep. La Shawn Ford chairs the task force, which will be honoring the memory of those who’ve died from a drug overdose.
State Rep. La Shawn Ford and Congressman Danny Davis brought together representatives from a number of groups fighting the opioid epidemic on the West Side.
On the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti and state Rep. La Shawn Ford discussed the ongoing epidemic, which has hit Austin and other parts of Chicago’s West Side especially hard.