Fentanyl Crisis Town Hall Scheduled For Santa Cruz County

News release from the Health Improvement Partnership of Santa Cruz County:

SANTA CRUZ, CA — The Health Improvement Partnership of Santa Cruz County and SafeRx invite the public and key stakeholders to join a virtual town hall on April 25th, from 6-7 pm, to discuss local impacts from the ongoing national fentanyl overdose crisis.

Overdose drug deaths are rising significantly across the U.S., increasing nearly 30 percent during the year ending in April 2021, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and an increasing number of those deaths are attributable to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. In addition to raising awareness about fentanyl-related overdoses and deaths, panelists will share essential information and resources with the community.

“This crisis affects our families, our neighbors, our youth, our friends, and the people of our
community, “said Dr. Jen Hastings, Physician Consultant for SafeRx. “We want to emphasize the
importance of having open and honest conversations without stigma, and how our community
is coming together to prevent further loss. Most of all, we want to listen.”

Panel members representing various sectors of the county will answer questions, listen and gather feedback from the community, which will inform strategies and next steps.

Please join us April 25th, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at https://tinyurl.com/scfentanyltownhall.

Simultaneous Spanish translation will be available.

This press release was produced by the Health Improvement Partnership of Santa Cruz County. The views expressed here are the author's own.