(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Officials in Cook County say a new opioid overdose prevention van is already paying dividends.
For the last two months, Family Guidance Centers has been operating Cook County’s Mobile Overdose Prevention Outreach Van, predominantly on the South and West sides of the city.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle points out that, over the past several years, opioid overdose deaths in the county have reached 2,000.
“What gets a lot of attention in the media is the violence on our streets and the murders, but every year, for the last several years, twice as many people have died of overdose deaths who have died as a result of violence,” she said.
The van offers Narcan, the medication used to revive an overdose victim, fentanyl test strips and other harm-reduction tools.
Program manager Michael Ferguson has been off drugs for five years and recalls a recent example of the van’s positive impact.
“We were able to connect somebody in the community that was battling with addiction, feeling lost, isolated,” he said.
Officials have seen more than 1,700 individuals and distributed nearly 2,000 Narcan kits and a similar number of fentanyl test strips, said Ronald Vlasaty, CEO of Family Guidance Centers, which operates the van.
Cook County Commissioner Monica Gordon was among supporting the van initiative. For her, it’s personal.
“Seventeen years ago, I lost my Uncle Victor to this troubling epidemic. This crisis has had a chokehold on our communities for far too long,” she said.
Cook County Health Chief Behavior Health Officer Dr. Thomas Nutter said the use of opioids, particularly fentanyl and the newer synthetic compounds, has become more lethal, even in small quantities.
He says opioids are an equal opportunity destroyer.
“Though the highest number of deaths statewide are among whites, per capita rates in the black population, particularly middle age and older, are considerably higher—eight times higher than the state’s average per capita rate.”
The van and its work are being paid for with a nearly $1 million federal grant.
Listen to our new podcast Looped In: Chicago
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram